UIO-66 as Nucleating Agent on the Crystallization Behavior and Properties of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)

In this study, not only was the similar terephthalate structure between UIO-66 and PET utilized to improve compatibility, but the Zr4+ exposed by defects of UIO-66 was also utilized to improve the interaction between PET and UIO-66. Furthermore, PET nanocomposites with different contents of UIO-66 were also fabricated. Due to the high specific surface area and coordination of Zr4+, UIO-66 has high nucleation efficiency in the PET matrix. Compared with pure PET, the crystallization rate of PET/UIO-66 nanocomposite is significantly increased, and the crystallization temperature of PET-UIO66-1 is significantly increased from 194.3 degrees C to 211.6 degrees C. In addition, the tensile strength of nanocomposites has also been improved due to coordination.

Automated summary

In this study, the similar terephthalate structure between UIO-66 and PET was utilized to improve compatibility, while the exposed Zr4+ by defects of UIO-66 was utilized to enhance the interaction between PET and UIO-66. The PET nanocomposites with different contents of UIO-66 showed significantly increased crystallization rate and tensile strength compared to pure PET, with a higher crystallization temperature in the PET-UIO66-1 nanocomposite.