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Nonlinear determination of the equilibrium melting temperature from initial nonreorganized crystals of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate)
Author(s) -
Righetti Maria Cristina,
Lorenzo Maria Laura Di
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.23199
Subject(s) - materials science , thermodynamics , melting point , polymer , recrystallization (geology) , crystallinity , melting temperature , nonlinear system , calorimetry , composite material , physics , paleontology , quantum mechanics , biology
In this article a procedure for the determination of the equilibrium melting temperature ( T m 0 ) of polymers whose crystals reorganize during heating with a melting/recrystallization mechanism is presented and discussed. The procedure is completely based on data obtained by calorimetry and does not require measurements with nonroutine techniques. From the extrapolated melting temperatures of initial nonreorganized crystals, the T m 0of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) is calculated through the Thomson‐Gibbs equation via a nonlinear regression method. The value of T m 0here determined (511 K) is higher than previous data obtained with the commonly used Hoffman‐Weeks procedure, which confirms that the latter method provides an underestimation of the equilibrium melting point, similar to the data reported for a number of other semicrystalline polymers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers