A Distribution Kinetics Approach for Crystallization of Polymer Blends

Yang, Jiao and McCoy, Benjamin J and Madras, Giridhar (2006) A Distribution Kinetics Approach for Crystallization of Polymer Blends. In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 110 (31). pp. 15198-15204.

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Abstract

The cluster distribution approach is extended to investigate the crystallization kinetics of miscible polymer blends. Mixture effects of polymer-polymer interactions are incorporated into the diffusion coefficient. The melting temperature, activation energy of diffusion, and phase transition enthalpy also depend on the blending fraction and lead to characteristic kinetic behavior of crystallization. The influence of different blending fractions is presented through the time dependence of polymer concentration, number and size of crystals, and crystallinity (in Avrami plots). Computational results indicate how overall crystallization kinetics can be expressed approximately by the Avrami equation. The nucleation rate decreases as the blending fraction of the second polymer component increases. The investigation suggests that blending influences crystal growth rate mainly through the deposition-rate driving force and growth-rate coefficient. The model is further validated by simulating the experimental data for the crystallization of a blend of poly(vinylidenefluoride)[PVDF] and poly(vinyl acetate)[PVAc] at various blending fractions.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Publisher:	American Chemical Society
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article is belongs to American Chemical Society
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	13 Dec 2006
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:33
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/9122

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