Effects of Hairy Nanoparticles on Polymer Crystallization Kinetics

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01380
• Publication Date: 2019-11-22T15:50:31Z
• Authors: Andrew M. Jimenez; Alejandro A. Krau...; Ricardo A. Pérez-...; Dan Zhao; Julia Pribyl; Jacques Jestin; Brian C. Benicewicz; Alejandro J. Müller; Sanat K. Kumar
• Keywords: Crystal (programming language); Volume fraction

We previously showed that nanoparticles (NPs) could be ordered into structures by using the growth rate of polymer crystals as control variable. In particular, for slow enough spherulitic fronts, NPs grafted with amorphous chains are selectively moved interlamellar, interfibrillar, and interspherulitic zones a lamellar morphology, specifically going from interlamellar to progressively decreasing crystal rates. Here, we examine effect NP grafting density on crystallization kinetics. find while nucleation is practically unaffected presence NPs, growth, final crystallinity, melting point values decrease uniformly volume fraction crystallizable polymer, poly(ethylene oxide) or PEO, ϕPEO, decreases. A surprising aspect here these results apparently variations in relative amounts graft silica at constant ϕ, implying chemical details defect only play secondary role. therefore propose this size range provide geometrical confinement effects which serve set rates depressions without causing any changes mechanisms.