Effect of PMR-POI on the melt behavior and isothermal crystallization of poly(phenylene sulfide)

The crystallization behavior of neat PPS and PPS in blends with PMR‐POI prepared by melt mixing were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was found that POI was an effective nucleation agent of the crystallization for PPS. The enthalpy of crystallization of PPS in the blends increased compared with that of neat PPS. During isothermal crystallization from melt, the dependence of relative degree of crystallinity on time was described by the Avrami equation. It has been shown that the addition of POI causes an increase in the overall crystallization rate of PPS; it also changed the mechanism of nucleation of the PHB crystals from homogeneous nucleation to heterogeneous nucleation. The equilibrium melting temperature of PPS and PPS/POI blends were determined. The analysis of kinetic data according to nucleation theories shows that the increase in crystallization rate of PPS in the composite is due to the decrease in surface energy of the extremity surface. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 436–442, 2002