Dynamic crystallization kinetics and nucleation parameters of a new generation of nanocomposites based on isotactic...

Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and time-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction have been used to investigate the dynamic crystallization behavior and crystalline structure of novel nanocomposites based on isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and molybdenum disulfide inorganic nanotubes (INT-MoS(2)). The influence of the INT-MoS(2) content and different cooling rates on the crystallization behavior has been studied. The crystallization exothermic peak shifted to higher temperature, and the overall crystallization time was reduced by increasing the INT-MoS(2). The dynamic crystallization kinetics was analyzed using the Ozawa-Avrami method, which was successful in describing the dynamic crystallization behavior of these new nanocomposites. On the other hand, study of the nucleation activity using the Dobreva method revealed that the INT-MoS(2) had an efficient nucleation effect on the monoclinic crystal form of iPP. Moreover, this effect was corroborated by the results of the crystallization activation energy, calculated using Kissinger and Takhor methods, which also confirmed the fact that the addition of INT-MoS(2) made the molecular chains easier to crystallize and increased the crystallization rate of iPP.