Crystallization behavior of poly(vinylidene fluoride) nanocomposites containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes

摘要

Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites with different loadings of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNT) were prepared by a melt compounding technique. The isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization behavior of neat PVDF and PVDF/CNT nanocomposites were studied using differential scanning calorimetry. The crystallization rate of PVDF was significantly increased because of the nucleating effect of CNT. The crystalline morphology of PVDF and its CNT nanocomposites, studied using polarized optical microscopy, indicated that the addition of CNT promoted the crystallization of PVDF and decreased the spherulitic size of PVDF significantly. The isothermal crystallization kinetic behavior was analyzed by Avrami equation and the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics were comparatively studied by the Ozawa method and an Avrami-Ozawa combination method. According to the Kissinger method, the nonisothermal crystallization activation energies of neat PVDF and its nanocomposites were estimated.