Abstract
The morphology, flame retardancy and non-isothermal crystallization behaviour of pure PET and poly(ethylene terephthalate)/nano-boehmite composites (PET/AlOOH) prepared in situ were characterized using several techniques. The morphology of the nanocomposites carried out using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the nano-boehmite particles were uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix and formed crosslinked structures. Combustion behaviour and flammability were assessed using cone calorimetry (CONE). The results indicated that the total heat release (THR) and smoke production rate of PET/AlOOH were significantly less than those of pure PET. Study of the behaviour and kinetics of non-isothermal crystallization of pure PET and PET/AlOOH nanocomposites was accomplished by DSC analysis. The results showed that the AlOOH could act as an effective nucleation agent for the crystallization of PET, while the presence of boehmite decreased the crystallization rate and extended the time of crystallization of PET, which can be explained by the formation of partly-crosslinked structure of PET/AlOOH nanocomposites.