PET - A SEMI-CRYSTALLINE NANOCOMPOSITE

摘要

Polymer nanocomposites sparked significant interest due to unprecedented material properties and property combinations. While most polymer nanocomposites are multi-phase materials with distinctive chemical structure for each phase, it is possible to make a reinforcement with the same chemistry. Such composites have been demonstrated in metals and polymers. Reinforcement with the same base chemistry (self-reinforcing) has advantages in compatibility, load transfer, and processing ability. Composite research continues on interface properties and their optimization. This is often complicated by poor surface chemistry interactions. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a widely known semi-crystalline polymer, possess a unique micro-structure that can be engineered through process history. Bi-axial stretching near the glass transition temperature yields a semi-crystalline microstructure in PET controlled by a function of temperature and strain rate where, in many cases, the crystalline phase can be kept small and acts as a nano-scale reinforcement.