Nonisothermal cold crystallization kinetics of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/clay nanocomposite

The nonisothermal cold crystallization behavior of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and PET/clay nanocomposite was performed by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Three different kinetics models, namely, the Avrami analysis modified by Jeziorny, the Ozawa model, and a method developed by Mo, were used for the data analysis. The Avrami analysis modified by Jeziorny could gratifyingly describe the primary nonisothermal crystallization stage of PET and PET/clay nanocomposite. The Ozawa analysis failed to provide an adequate description of the nonisothermal cold crystallization of PET and PET/clay nanocomposite. The method developed by Mo was successful in describing the nonisothermal process of PET and PET/clay nanocomposite. It was also concluded that the clay in PET decreased the cold crystallization temperature and the crystallization degree of PET matrix, but did not apparently change the dependence of crystallization peak temperature on heating rate used and the cold crystallization rate of PET matrix.