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Crystallization kinetics of poly(vinyl alcohol)
Author(s) -
Peppas Nikolaos A.,
Hansen Paula J.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.1982.070271223
Subject(s) - crystallization , vinyl alcohol , crystallite , avrami equation , materials science , kinetics , supercooling , isothermal process , polymer chemistry , swelling , thermodynamics , water of crystallization , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , crystallization of polymers , polymer , composite material , physics , quantum mechanics , metallurgy , engineering
The kinetics of crystallization of solvent‐free poly(vinyl alcohol) were investigated by isothermal crystallization at temperatures of 142–192°C, for up to 18 min. The crystallization isotherms were analyzed by Avrami's theory. The magnitude of the exponent n was almost constant (0.67–0.71) in the range of 142–182°C, increasing to 1.53 for crystallization at 192°C. Based on thermodynamic analysis of the isotherms and the crystallite growth rate, there are strong indications that crystallization of PVA is one‐dimensional. In the absence of water or other swelling agents, kinetic hindrances predominate due to the interactions of the hydroxyl groups. Therefore, the maximum attainable weight fraction of crystallized PVA is considerably lower than that of hydrated PVA samples. Additional parameters affecting the growth rate are discussed, including the degree of undercooling and the average chain length, as controlled by crosslinking.