Rhythmic growth of ring‐banded spherulites in blends of liquid crystalline methoxy‐poly(aryl ether ketone) and poly(aryl ether ether ketone)

Rhythmic growth of ring‐banded spherulites in blends of liquid crystalline methoxy‐poly(aryl ether ketone) (M‐PAEK) and poly(aryl ether ether ketone) (PEEK) has been investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The measurements reveal that the formation of the rhythmically grown ring‐banded spherulites in the M‐PAEK/PEEK blends is strongly dependent on the blend composition. In the M‐PAEK‐rich blends, upon cooling, an unusual ring‐banded spherulite is formed, which is ascribed to structural discontinuity caused by a rhythmic radial growth. For the 50:50 M‐PAEK/PEEK blend, ring‐banded spherulites and individual PEEK spherulites coexist in the system. In the blends with PEEK as the predominant component, M‐PAEK is rejected into the boundary of PEEK spherulites. The cooling rate and crystallization temperature have great effect on the phase behavior, especially the ring‐banded spherulite formation in the blends. In addition, the effects of M‐PAEK phase transition rate and phase separation rate on banded spherulite formation is discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 3011–3024, 2007     

Poly(ether ether ketone)/poly(aryl ether sulfone) blends: Melt rheological behavior

Dynamic rheological measurements were carried out on blends of poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK)/poly(aryl ether sulfone) (PES) in the melt state in the oscillatory shear mode. The data were analyzed for the fundamental rheological behavior to yield insight into the microstructure of PEEK/PES blends. A variation of complex viscosity with composition exhibited positive–negative deviations from the log‐additivity rule and was typical for a continuous‐discrete type of morphology with weak interaction among droplets. The point of transition showed that phase inversion takes place at composition with a 0.6 weight fraction of PEEK, which agreed with the actual morphology of these blends observed by scanning electron microscopy. Activation energy for flow, for blend compositions followed additive behavior, which indicated that PEEK/PES blends may have had some compatibility in the melt. Variation of the elastic modulus (G′) with composition showed a trend similar to that observed for complex viscosity. A three‐zone model used for understanding the dynamic moduli behavior of polymers demonstrated that PEEK follows plateau‐zone behavior, whereas PES exhibits only terminal‐zone behavior in the frequency range studied. The blends of these two polymers showed an intermediate behavior, and the crossover frequency shifted to the low‐frequency region as the PEEK content in PES increased. This revealed the shift of terminal‐zone behavior to low frequency with an increased PEEK percentage in the blend. Variation of relaxation time with composition suggested that slow relaxation of PEEK retards the relaxation process of PES as the PEEK concentration in the blend is increased because of the partial miscibility of the blend, which affects the constraint release process of pure components in the blend. A temperature‐independent correlation observed in the log–log plots of G′ versus loss modulus (G″) for different blend systems fulfilled the necessary condition for their rheological simplicity. Further, the composition‐dependent correlations of PEEK/PES blends observed in a log–log plot of G′ versus G″ showed that the blends are either partially miscible or immiscible and form a discrete‐continuous phase morphology. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1548–1563, 2004     

结晶／结晶共混体系聚苯硫酸／聚醚醚酮中聚醚醚酮组分的结晶熔融行为──熔融温度的影响

结晶／结晶共混体系聚苯硫酸／聚醚醚酮中聚醚醚酮组分的结晶熔融行为──熔融温度的影响麦堪成，许家瑞，梅震，曾汉民（中山大学材料科学研究所，广州，５１０２７５）关键词聚醚醚酮，聚苯硫醚，结晶／结晶共混物，结晶熔融行为近年来，高性能聚合物共混物如聚砜（ＰＳ...     

聚醚醚酮/聚醚醚酮酮共混体系的熔融和等温结晶行为

采用熔融共混方法制备了聚醚醚酮和聚醚醚酮酮的共混物,用DSC对共混物的熔融行为和等温结晶行为进行了研究.结果表明,共混物熔点随聚醚醚酮含量增加而降低,但与聚醚醚酮酮有相同的平衡熔点,二者共混没有改变其结晶的成核与生长机制.     

A DSC study of miscibility and phase separation in crystalline polymer blends of phenolphthalein poly(ether ether sulfone) and poly(ethylene oxide)

The miscibility of blends of phenolphthalein poly(ether ether sulfone) (PES-C) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was established on the basis of the thermal analysis results. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies showed that the PES-C/PEO blends prepared by casting from N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) possessed a single, composition-dependent glass transition temperature (T_g), and thus that PES-C and PEO are miscible in the amorphous state at all compositions at lower temperature. At higher temperature, the blends underwent phase separation, and the PES-C/PEO blend system was found to display a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior. The phase separation process in the blends has also been investigated by using DSC. Annealed at high temperatures, the PES-C/PEO blends exhibited significant changes of thermal properties, such as the enthalpy of crystallization and fusion, temperatures of crystallization and melting, depending on blend composition when phase separation occurred. These changes reflect different characteristics of phase structure in the blends, and were taken as probes to determine phase boundary. From both the thermal analysis and optical microscopy, the phase diagram of the blend system was established. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 1383–1392, 1997     

Vitrification/devitrification phenomena during isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization of poly(aryl–ether–ether–ketone) (PEEK) and PEEK/poly(ether–imide) blends

We have established time–temperature transformation and continuous-heating transformation diagrams for poly(ether–ether–ketone) (PEEK) and PEEK/poly(ether–imide) (PEI) blends, in order to analyze the effects of relaxation control on crystallization. Similar diagrams are widely used in the field of thermosetting resins. Upon crystallization, the glass transition temperature (T_g) of PEEK and PEEK/PEI blends is found to increase significantly. In the case of PEEK, the shift of the α-relaxation is due to the progressive constraining of amorphous regions by nearby crystals. This phenomenon results in the isothermal vitrification of PEEK during its latest crystallization stages for crystallization temperatures near the initial T_g of PEEK. However, vitrification/devitrification effects are found to be of minor importance for anisothermal crystallization, above 0.1°C/min heating rate. In the case of PEEK/PEI blends, amorphous regions are progressively enriched in PEI upon PEEK crystallization. This promotes a shift of the α-relaxation of these regions to higher temperatures, with a consequent vitrification of the material when crystallized below the T_g of PEI. The data obtained for the blends in anisothermal regimes allow one to detect a region in the (temperature/heating rate) plane where crystallization proceeds in the continuously close proximity of the glass transition (dynamic vitrification). These experimental findings are in agreement with simple simulations based on a modified Avrami model coupled with the Fox equation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 919–930, 1998     

Thermal Analysis of Crystalline Polymer Blends

PEI/PEEK blends have been prepared and analysed by DSC. The blends are compatible over the full composition range in that amorphous samples are transparent and exhibit a single T_g varying with composition between the limits of the two components. The crystallisation kinetics of PEEK from the blend melt has been measured by DSC but the technique is limited to blend compositions above 20% PEEK. The use of a polarised light microscope to measure crystallization kinetics and melting behaviour of blends with compositions as low as 2 and 5% PEEK is discussed. In general, since the extent rather than the rate of crystallization is measured directly, the polarised light microscopy extends the measurement to slower rates and so to a wider temperature range. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

结晶／结晶共混体系聚苯硫酸／聚醚醚酮中聚醚醚酮组分的结晶熔融行为──熔融温度的影响

igh performance crystal/crystal blends of poly (phenylene sulfide) and poly (ether ether ketone) (PPS/PEEK) have ho prepared by dry mixing and melhng at different temperatures. The crystallization and melting behavior of PEEK component in quenched blends have ho investigated by differential scanningcalorimetry (DSC). As melt temperature (T_melt) increases, the crystalline andmelting behavior of PPS and PEEK is different due to the difference of thermalproperty of PPS and PEEK. The temperature of melhng (T_m) and crystallization (T_c) and crystallinity (X_c) of PEEK component in blends increase as the content of PPS increases up to 50%. However. this action of PPS is suppresed with increasing of T_melt.     

Glass transition and miscibility in blends of two semicrystalline polymers: Poly(aryl ether ketone) and poly(ether ether ketone)

Binary melt‐blended mixtures of two aryl ether ketone polymers (i.e., a new poly(aryl ether ketone) (code name PK99) and poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), have been studied. Polymer miscibility in glassy amorphous (or melt) domains has been demonstrated for the binary blend comprising of two aryl‐ether‐ketone‐type semicrystalline polymers. Composition‐dependent, single T_g was observed within full composition range in the PK99/PEEK blends, and the narrow T_g breadth also suggests that the scale of mixing was fine and uniform. To better resolve any possible overlapping T_g's, physical aging was imposed on a comparison set of blend samples for the purpose of improving detectability of overlapped multiple transitions if existing. The result still showed one single T_g. The relative sharp T_g and lack of cloud point transition suggest that the scale of molecular intermixing is good. Phase homogeneity was further confirmed using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The X‐ray diffractograms suggest that isomorphism does not exist in the PK99/PEEK blends and that the crystal forms of the respective polymers remain distinct and unchanged by the miscibility in the amorphous region. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1485–1494, 1999     

Relationship between morphology and glass transition temperature in solvent-crystallized poly(aryl ether ketones)

The relationship between semicrystalline morphology and glass transition temperature has been investigated for solvent-crystallized poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) and poly(ether ketone ketone) (PEKK). Solvent-crystallized specimens of both PEEK and PEKK displayed a sizeable positive offset in T_g compared to quenched amorphous specimens as well as thermally crystallized specimens of comparable bulk crystallinity; the offset in T_g for the crystallized samples reflected the degree of constraint imposed on the amorphous segments by the crystallites. Small-angle X-ray scattering studies revealed markedly smaller crystal long periods (d) for the solvent-crystallized specimens compared to samples prepared by direct cold crystallization. The strong inverse correlation observed between T_g and interlamellar amorphous thickness (l_A) based on a simple two-phase model was in excellent agreement with data reported previously for PEEK, and indicated the existence of a unique relationship between glass transition temperature and morphology in these poly(aryl ether ketones) over a wider range of sample preparation history and lamellar structure than was previously reported. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36 : 65–73, 1998     

聚己内酯在聚己内酯/聚乙烯基甲基醚共混体系中的结晶研究

通过示差扫描量热(DSC)、广角X射线衍射(WAXD)、小角X射线散射(SAXS)研究了聚己内酯(PCL)/聚乙烯基甲基醚(PVME)共混体系中PCL的结晶行为.研究结果表明,共混聚合物中PCL的结晶度几乎不随体系的组成而发生变化.共混物中PVME的存在没有改变PCL的晶体结构,但是随着PVME含量的增加,片晶之间的距离则大,这主要是由于非晶层增厚引起的.     

Crystallization and phase morphology of injection‐molded isotactic polypropylene (iPP)/syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) blends

The crystallization and phase morphology of the injection‐molded isotactic polypropylene (iPP)/syndiotactic polypylenen (sPP) blends were studied, focusing on the difference between the skin layer and core layer. The distribution of crystallinity of PPs in the blends calculated based upon the DSC results shows an adverse situation when compared with that in the neat polymer samples. For 50/50 wt % iPP/sPP blend, the SEM results indicated that a dispersed structure in the skin layer and a cocontinuous structure in the core layer were observed. A migration phenomenon that the sPP component with lower crystallization temperature and viscosity move to the core layer, whereas the iPP component with higher crystallization temperature and viscosity move to the skin layer, occurred in the iPP/sPP blend during injection molding process. The phenomenon of low viscosity content migrate to the low shear zone may be due to the crystallization‐induced demixing based upon the significant difference of crystallization temperature in the sPP and iPP. This migration caused the composition inhomogeneity in the blend and influenced the accuracy of crystallinity calculated based upon the initial composition. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2948–2955, 2007     

Effect of shear on the crystallization of the poly(ether ether ketone)

The effect of shear on the crystallization behavior of the poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) has been investigated by means of ex situ wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), small‐angle X‐ray scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The changes of the intensity of WAXD patterns along shear direction of the PEEK induced by short‐term shear were observed when the samples crystallized at 330 °C. The results showed that the dimensions of the crystallites perpendicular to the (110) and (111) planes reduced with the increase of shear rate, whereas the dimensions of the crystallites perpendicular to (200) plane increased with the increase of shear rate. Moreover, increasing shear rate can lead to the increase of the crystallinity as well as the average thickness of the crystalline layers. Correspondingly, a new melting peak at higher temperature was found during the subsequent DSC scanning when the shear rate was increased to 30 s^?1. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 220–225, 2010     

Miscibility,melting, and crystallization of poly(butylene‐2,6‐naphthalate)/poly(ether imide) blends

We prepared blends of poly(butylene‐2,6‐naphthalate) (PBN) and poly(ether imide) (PEI) by solution‐casting from dichloroacetic acid solutions. The miscibility, crystallization, and melting behavior of the blends were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis. PBN was miscible with PEI over the entire range of compositions, as shown by the existence of single composition‐dependent glass‐transition temperatures. In addition, a negative polymer–polymer interaction parameter was calculated, with the Nishi–Wang equation, based on the melting depression of PBN. In nonisothermal crystallization investigations, the depression of the crystallization temperature of PBN depended on the composition of the blend and the cooling rate; the presence of PEI reduced the number of PBN segments migrating to the crystallite/melt interface. Melting, recrystallization, and remelting processes occurring during the DSC heating scan caused the occurrence of multiple melting endotherms for PBN. We explored the effects of various experimental conditions on the melting behavior of PBN/PEI blends. The extent of recrystallization of the PBN component during DSC heating scans decreased as the PEI content, the heating rate, the crystallization temperature, and the crystallization time increased. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1694–1704, 2004     

Thermal,crystallization, mechanical,and rheological characteristics of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) blends

Blends of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) in the amorphous state were miscible in all of the blend compositions studied, as evidenced by a single, composition‐dependent glass‐transition temperature observed for each blend composition. The variation in the glass‐transition temperature with the blend composition was well predicted by the Gordon–Taylor equation, with the fitting parameter being 0.91. The cold‐crystallization (peak) temperature decreased with an increasing PTT content, whereas the melt‐crystallization (peak) temperature decreased with an increasing amount of the minor component. The subsequent melting behavior after both cold and melt crystallizations exhibited melting point depression behavior in which the observed melting temperatures decreased with an increasing amount of the minor component of the blends. During crystallization, the pure components crystallized simultaneously just to form their own crystals. The blend having 50 wt % of PTT showed the lowest apparent degree of crystallinity and the lowest tensile‐strength values. The steady shear viscosity values for the pure components and the blends decreased slightly with an increasing shear rate (within the shear rate range of 0.25–25 s^?1); those of the blends were lower than those of the pure components. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 676–686, 2004     

Thermal behavior and phase behavior in blends of liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketone) and poly(aryl ether ether ketone) containing thioether units

Thermal behavior and phase behavior in blends of liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketone) with lateral methoxy groups (M-PAEK) and poly(aryl ether ether ketone) containing thioether units (S-PEEK) have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized light microscopy (PLM) techniques. The results indicate that the composition of the blends has great effect on the phase behavior and morphology. Thin films of pure M-PAEK and S-PEEK crystallized from the melts exhibit typical mosaic and spherulitic structures, respectively. For the blends with higher M-PAEK contents (> 50%), an unusual ring-banded spherulite with structural discontinuity is formed. The bright core and rings of the ring-banded spherulites under PLM are composed of M-PAEK phase, while the dark rings consist mainly of S-PEEK phase. For the 50:50 M-PAEK/S-PEEK blend, the ring-banded spherulites and S-PEEK spherulites coexist, which implies that a partial phase separation between the two components takes place in the melting state. In S-PEEK-rich blends, a volume-filled spherulite is produced. In addition, the effect of isothermal crystallization temperature on the phase behavior, especially the ring-banded spherulite formation in the blends, is discussed.     

热塑性聚酰亚胺与聚醚醚酮共混物的等温结晶动力学

采用熔融共混方法制备了热塑性聚酰亚胺(TPI)与聚醚醚酮(PEEK)的共混物; 用示差扫描量热分析(DSC)研究了共混物的等温结晶动力学. 分别采用Avrami方程和Hoffman-Lauritzen方程分析共混物的等温结晶动力学、端表面自由能(σe)和分子链折叠功(q). 结果表明, 加入TPI后PEEK的结晶速率降低, 结晶活化能、σe和q均增加. 但这些数值的变化与TPI含量不呈线性关系, 并从共混物的相容性和表面形貌给出了可能的解释.     

A Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy study of the crystallization behaviour of poly (ether ether ketone)/poly (ether imide) blends

This paper describes a study of the crystallization behaviour of blends consisting of the polymers poly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) and poly (ether imide) (PEI) using Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy. The annealing process of PEEK was followed for the virgin polymer and also when it was blended with PEI. The data presented show that the crystallization process of PEEK is inhibited by the presence of the PEI, but the extent of the crystallinity is increased. There is also evidence that the presence of the PEI induces premelting of the PEEK.     

Miscibility in crystalline/amorphous blends of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/DGEBA

A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) study of miscibility in blends of the semicrystalline polyester poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and amorphous monomer epoxy DGEBA (diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A) was performed. Evidence of the miscibility of PHB/DGEBA in the molten state was found from a DSC study of the dependence of glass transition temperature (T_g) as a function of the blend composition and isothermal crystallization, analyzing the melting point (T_m) as a function of blend composition. A negative value of Flory–Huggins interaction parameter χ_PD was obtained. Furthermore, the lamellar crystallinity in the blend was studied by SAXS as a function of the PHB content. Evidence of the segregation of the amorphous material out of the lamellar structure was obtained. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013     

Effects of the oriented mesophase on the cold crystallization of syndiotactic polystyrene and its blend with poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide)

The effects of molecular orientation on the crystallization and polymorphic behaviors of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) and sPS/poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (PPO) blends were studied with wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry. The oriented amorphous films of sPS and sPS/PPO blends were crystallized under constraint at crystallization temperatures ranging from 140 to 240°C. The degree of crystallinity was lower in the cold‐crystallized oriented film than in the cold‐crystallized isotropic film. This was in contrast to the case of the cold crystallization of other polymers such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) and isotactic polystyrene, in which the molecular orientation induced crystallization and accelerated crystal growth. It was thought that the oriented mesophase was obtained in drawn films of sPS and that the crystallization of sPS was suppressed in that phase. The WAXD measurements showed that the crystal phase was more ordered in an sPS/PPO blend than in pure sPS under the same annealing conditions. The crystalline order recovered in the cold‐crystallized sPS/PPO blends in comparison with the cold‐crystallized pure sPS because of the decrease in the mesophase content. The crystal forms depended on the crystallization temperature, blend composition, and molecular orientation. Only the α′‐crystalline form was obtained in cold‐crystallized pure sPS, regardless of molecular orientation, whereas α′, α″, and β′ forms coexisted in the cold‐crystallized sPS/PPO blends prepared at higher crystallization temperatures (200–240°C). The β′‐form content was much lower in the oriented sPS/PPO blend than in the isotropic blend sample at the same temperature and composition. It was concluded that the oriented mesophase suppressed the crystallization of the stable β′ form more than that of the metastable α′ and α″ forms during the cold crystallization of sPS/PPO blends. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1665–1675, 2003