Crystallization properties of polycaprolactone composites filled with nanometer calcium carbonate

Abstract

Abstract Polycaprolactone (PCL) composites filled with nanometer calcium carbonate (nano‐CaCO 3 ) were prepared by means of a twin‐screw extruder in this study. The nano‐CaCO 3 surface treated with stearate. The crystalline properties of the PCL/nano‐CaCO 3 composites were measured with a differential scanning calorimeter to identify the influence of the nanometer filler content on the crystalline properties. The results show that the crystallization onset temperature, crystallization temperature, and crystallization end temperature of the composites were obviously higher than those of the unfilled PCL resin, and the crystallization degree (χ c ) of the composites increased with increasing particle weight fraction (ϕ f ) when ϕ f was more than 1%. When ϕ f was 1%, χ c of the composite was less than that of the unfilled PCL resin. Moreover, the dispersion of the inclusions in the matrix was observed by means of scanning electron microscopy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013