Crystallization behavior of poly(butylene succinate)/corn starch biodegradable composite

The effects of corn starch (CS) filler and lysine diisocyanate (LDI) as a coupling agent on the crystallization behavior of a poly(butylene succinate) (PBS)/CS ecocomposite were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry. In isothermal crystallization, ii values for pure PBS were from 2.33 to 2.82. On the other hand, both composites showed values of 3 < n < 4. In nonisothermal crystallization, the Avrami exponent varied from 2.12 to 2.55 for pure PBS, from 1.58 to 1.96 for the composite without LDI, and from 1.79 to 1.91 for the composite with LDI, depending on the cooling rate. There was not a large difference of the crystallization rate constant (k) as adjusted by the Jeziornay suggestion. The activation energy for nonisothermal crystallization was also calculated on the basis of three different equations (Augis-Bennett, Kissinger, and Takhor equations). However, the values of the activation energy were in contradiction with the results of the kinetics. The addition of the filler (CS) and coupling agent (LDI) affected the morphological Structure of PBS spherulites. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.