Prominent Crystallization Promotion Effect of Montmorillonite on PTT/PC Blends with PTT as the Continuous Phase

To regulate the crystallization of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) retarded by melt blending with polycarbonate (PC), the crystallization of the PTT/PC blend was investigated employing nano-montmorillonite (MMT) as a crystallization promoter with PTT as the continuous phase. The results showed that MMT exhibits a significant promoting effect on PTT crystallization; the presence of 1 wt. % MMT shifts the initial and peak crystallization temperatures of the 70/30 PTT/PC blend to ~17 °C and ~32 °C, respectively. Additionally, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) narrows by ~45%, and the ΔH_c increases by 3.7 J.g^-1. The accelerating effect of MMT is determined by its distribution and dispersion which depends on the shear intensity, mixing mode, and loading. MMT is easier to exfoliate via the two-step method than by the one-step method. The distribution in the PTT phase is enriched along the phase interface forming an MMT layer. This endows sections of the PTT with abundant nuclei and thus crystallization is promoted markedly compared with the one-step method. Moreover, the finer MMT migrates more readily to the interface to cause a much smoother phase interface. However, a secondary crystallization peak appears when the shear force is not sufficient enough to make MMT finely dispersed, in case of the two-step method and the MMT content is increased to 3 wt. %. The mixing temperature shows little effect on the acceleration of MMT on the crystallization of PTT/PC compared with the shear force. Only when MMT did not exfoliate or uncomplete did the presence of epoxy resin help to promote crystallization because of the improved MMT dispersion.