| Abstract: | Isothermal melt crystallization kinetics were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for virgin and α-chloronaphthalene solvent-treated poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) systems. The overall crystallization rates were found to be much faster for the solvent-treated PPS than for the virgin neat PPS. Additionally, the Avrami crystallization plot for the solvent-treated PPS samples appeared as two straight portions with an apparent discontinuity, but as a continuous straight line for the virgin PPS system. After the treatment of solvent dissolution and subsequent drying, the residual trace α-chloronaphthalene, upon being quenched to the crystallization temperatures, initiated some localized solvent-induced nuclei-like crystals in PPS. It was the nuclei that enhanced secondary crystallization in treated PPS during the second stage, and the higher extents of secondary crystallization in the solvent-treated PPS caused the apparent discontinuous break in the Avrami plots. The causes for the difference were explained and the mechanism of the sequential primary/secondary crystallization kinetics for the solvent-treated PPS was satisfactorily described with a proposed series-parallel crystallization model. ©1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. |
