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Effects of fumed silica on the crystallization behavior and thermal properties of poly(hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐hydroxyvalerate)
Author(s) -
Ma P. M.,
Wang R. Y.,
Wang S. F.,
Zhang Y.,
Zhang Y. X.,
Hristova D.
Publication year - 2008
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.27577
Subject(s) - fumed silica , crystallization , materials science , thermogravimetric analysis , differential scanning calorimetry , spherulite (polymer physics) , nucleation , chemical engineering , composite material , kinetics , thermal stability , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , thermodynamics , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
The effects of fumed silica on the crystallization behavior and thermal properties of poly(hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) were investigated. The PHBV/silica composites were prepared by a melt‐blending method. The nonisothermal crystallization, melting process, and isothermal crystallization kinetics of PHBV and PHBV/silica composites were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry. The spherulite development and morphology were observed by polarized optical microscopy. In addition, the thermal degradation properties were determined via thermogravimetric analysis. The results indicated that the melting and crystallization kinetics of PHBV were greatly affected by fumed silica, and this was due to the effective nucleation function of silica, which enhanced the crystallization process. The thermal onset degradation temperature of PHBV increased with the addition of fumed silica. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008