Tracing the crystallization process of polyoxymethylene/poly(ethylene oxide) crystalline/crystalline blends by two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy

A new perturbation-correlation moving-window two-dimensional correlation (PCMW2D) infrared spectroscopy was employed to study the complex crystallization of the polyoxymethylene/poly(ethylene oxide) (POM/PEO) crystalline/crystalline blends for the first time. The online polarizing microscope measurement found POM/PEO forms the crystalline/crystalline blends with a typical island structure. The PCMW2D IR spectra determined three processes of the POM/PEO crystallization. The first is the maximum crystallization temperature of POM (138 °C). The second is the POM recrystallization process (72 °C). The thickening speed of the lamellae (FCC), as well as the crystallization of the macrocyclic POM, is faster than the improvement of POM ECC. The existence of the PEO melts significantly decelerates the improvement speed of ECC in interface. The third is the maximum crystallization temperature of PEO (35 °C). According to the results of the generalized 2D correlation analysis, it can be found the POM ECC plays a leading role during the POM/PEO crystallization.