Kinetics of thermally induced solid state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract

Abstract A diffusional model was established to study the kinetics of thermally‐induced solid state polycondensation of poly(ethylene terephthalate). Diffusion through solid polymer is the rate controlling step when temperature is higher than 210°C and particle size is no smaller than 100 mesh. The activation energy is 30 Kcal/g mole. In polymerizing powders (20‐200 mesh), the crystallinity of prepolymer and its changes during the polymerization affect the diffusivity and thus the polymerization rate. The diffusivity was found to be linearly proportional to the mass fraction of the amorphous phase in PET polymer.