Isothermal crystallization of pure and glass fiber reinforced poly(phenylene sulfide) composites

Abstract

Abstract The isothermal crystallization of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) and its glass fiber (GF) reinforced composite has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscope (POM) equipped with a hot stage. During the isothermal crystallization process of PPS the Avrami exponent value decreases with time, indicating the change of crystallization mechanism and presence of mixed growth mechanism (bidimensional and three‐dimensional growth of crystals). The presence of GF greatly accelerates the bulk crystallization rate of PPS and changes the crystalline morphology of PPS from the spherulites to transcrystallization. And the reason for development of transcrystallization is considered to be relevant with the compatibility of the interface between GF and PPS. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers