Crystallization Kinetics and Morphology of Biodegradable Poly(ethylene succinate)/Octavinyl-Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes Nanocomposites

Abstract

One of the main drawbacks of biodegradable poly­(ethylene succinate) (PES) is its slow crystallization rate. We prepared three nanocomposite samples in the present work by incorporating different small amounts of octavinyl-polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (ovi-POSS) into the PES matrix. The morphology and dispersion of ovi-POSS were first studied with a scanning electron microscope in the PES matrix. The nanofiller showed a nice dispersion throughout the polymer matrix with a regular structure, indicating the crystalline feature. The influences of different amounts of ovi-POSS on the nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization behaviors, spherulitic morphologies, and crystal structures of the nanocomposites were extensively investigated with several techniques. Ovi-POSS obviously enhanced the crystallization behaviors of PES as an efficient nucleating agent in the nanocomposites; moreover, the nanocomposites and neat PES had the same crystal structures and crystallization mechanisms