Nonisothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Poly(lactic acid)/Nanosilica Composites

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/nanosilica composites were prepared by blending the PLA and nanosilica in chloroform and then evaporating the solvent to form the composite films in a dish. The Ozawa and Mo equations were used to characterize the nonisothermal cold crystallization kinetics of the PLA/nanosilica composites. The results indicated that the Ozawa equation was not successful while the Mo equation was successful to describe the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of PLA/nanosilica composites. The values of crystallization activation energy (E-c) of the samples were calculated by the Kissinger method. Although the sample crystallization rates were enhanced with the increase of nanosilica content, the samples exhibited increased E-c in the presence of nanosilica. The results showed that nanosilica had an effect on both the nucleation and the crystal growth of PLA, promoting the nucleation but interfering with the molecular motion of PLA in the crystallization process.