Impact of nucleating agents of PVDF on the crystallization of PVDF/PMMA blends

The enhanced nucleation of poly(vinylidene fluoride) in its blends with PMMA, and its impact on the crystallization kinetics and overall crystallinity of the PVDF/PMMA blends are investigated. Since in the blends the growth rates are significantly slowed down and spread over a wider crystallization range, nucleation has a significant impact on the crystallization process. In particular, crystallization peaks are shifted upwards by up to 30 degreesC for nucleated samples. These higher crystallization temperatures make it possible to reach, upon cooling, high degrees of crystallinity for PVDF/PMMA compositions down to 50/50, i.e. for blends which remain amorphous when not nucleated. degrees 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.