Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene/silicon nitride nanocomposites

The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene/silicon nitride (PP/Si3N4) nanocomposites was investigated. The Avrami method, Ozawa method and a method proposed by Mo were applied to the analysis of the non-isothermal crystallization of the PP nanocomposites. Nucleation activity of the Si3N4 nanoparticles on the PP matrix was also explored. The nucleation activity was strongest when the Si3N4 content was 2 wt%. The effective activation barrier (ΔE) for non-isothermal crystallization was also estimated as a function of the relative degree of crystallinity using the isoconversional analysis of calorimetric data. The value of ΔE was found to vary with the relative degree of crystallinity, as well as with the presence of Si3N4 filler.