Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of reactive microgel/nylon 6 blends

The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of reactive microgel/nylon 6 blends was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The Mo equation was employed to analyze the non-isothermal crystallization data. The crystallization activation energies were also evaluated by the Kissinger method. The results show that the crystallization onset temperature (Tonset) and crystallization peak temperature (Tp) decrease with the increase of the content of reactive microgel, while ΔT (Tonset–Tp), the crystallization half-time (t1/2) and the crystallization enthalpy (ΔHc) increase. The required cooling rates of blends are higher than that of neat nylon 6 in order to achieve the same relative crystallinity in a unit of time. The crystallization activation energies of the reactive microgel/nylon 6 blends are greater than those of the neat nylon 6. When the content of reactive microgel is 30%, the relative crystallinity (Xt) reaches the maximum.

Graphical abstractThe crystallization half-time (t1/2) and crystallization enthalpy (ΔHc) of non-isothermal crystallization for nylon 6 and reactive microgel/nylon 6 blends at cooling rates of 15 °C·min− 1 are illustrated in the figure, the t1/2 of blends increases with the content of reactive microgel increasing, indicating that the addition of reactive microgel can decrease the crystallization rate of nylon 6. However, the ΔHc can reflect the relative crystallinity (Xt) of polymer. It is obvious in the figure that the value of ΔHc of blends is bigger than that of neat nylon 6 with the reactive microgel adding, and ΔHc gets to a maximum when the content of reactive microgel is 30%. It means that adding reactive microgel can improve the relative crystallinity of nylon 6 to a certain degree.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide