Crystallization behavior of biodegradable poly(ethylene adipate) modulated by a benign nucleating agent: zinc phenylphosphonate
writer：Liang Rong, Chen Yichun, Zhang Chunqiu, Yin Jing, Liu Xuelei, Wang Lukai, Kong Rui, Feng Xin, Yang J
keywords：Crystallization kinetics; Epitaxial growth; Poly(ethylene adipate); Nucleating agent
source：期刊
specific source：Chinese Journal of Polymer Science
Issue time：2017年
Zinc phenylphosphonate (PPZn), a benign and biocompatible nucleating agent, was prepared and incorporated into
the biodegradable poly(ethylene adipate) (PEA) to investigate its effect on the crystallization behavior, crystallization
kinetics and spherulite morphology of PEA. Upon addition of PPZn, the crystallization temperature and crystallinity of PEA
in the non-isothermal crystallization process increased significantly. Analysis of crystallization kinetics by Avrami equation
suggests that the crystallization time shortened greatly and crystallization rate increased markedly after addition of PPZn. In
the presence of PPZn, the spherulite size decreased and spherulite density increased significantly. It suggests that PPZn is an
efficient nucleating agent for the crystallization of PEA. The accelerated crystallization in the presence of PPZn is mainly
attributed to the epitaxial nucleation of PEA crystals on the surface of PPZn crystals, that is, a perfect lattice matching
between PEA crystal and PPZn crystal occurs.