Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Nucleated Crystallization Behavior of Biodegradable Poly(butylene succinate) Nanocomposites

Poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) nanocomposites with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) prepared by melt compounding were studied for the effect of MWNT dispersion on the modulus and crystallization kinetics. The nucleating effect of the addition of 0.1 wt % MWNT to PBS was clearly demonstrated. Differential scanning calorimetry nonisothermal crystallization studies showed a clear decrease in the half-time of crystallization with increasing MWNT content in PBS/MWNT nanocomposites. It was observed with the Ozawa method that the Ozawa parameter values for the nanocomposites were lower than those for neat PBS, and this indicated that the crystal morphology was different. The storage modulus of the nanocomposites increased about 23% with the addition of only 0.1% MWNT in comparison with neat PBS, whereas the glass-transition temperature was unaltered. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 111: 2938-2945, 2009