Microcrystalline and kinetic parameters of glass-PEEK hybrid composites

The cowoven hybrid fiber fabric consisting of E-glass and poly(ether ether ketone) fiber was compression-molded to obtain the hybrid composites. The effect of heat aging at different temperatures (400°C and 500°C) for different time intervals (1, 2, and 5 min) on the microcrystalline properties of the composites has been investigated and it was observed that heat aging for short time enhances the structure property relationships as reflected in the changes in crystal size and volume. The microcrystalline parameters such as the nanocrystal size (), lattice disorder (g), interplanar distance (dhkl), width of the crystallite size distribution, and surface-weighted crystal size (Ds) were evaluated using wide angle X-ray scattering profiles. The different asymmetric column length distribution functions namely, exponential and Reinhold distribution methods were employed to probe the microcrystalline behavior of the composites and the results were compared. The kinetics of thermal degradation (using Flynn—Wall—Ozawa) revealed that, the activation energy decreased with increase in mass loss up to 15% and remains constant thereafter.