Abstract

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) nanocomposites were prepared through a solution casting method using Multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) as nanoparticles and their morphological and thermal properties investigated. The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements showed that decreasing the ratio of MWCNT to OMMT for the same amount of OMMT creates better conditions for intercalation of PET macromolecules and promotes the transformation of OMMT nanostructures from the intercalated to exfoliated state. It was concluded that the Ozawa's model was not suitable to interpret the crystallization behavior of the nanocomposites. Based on Liu's model, it was found that the sample containing the lower ratio of MWCNT to OMMT had the highest crystallization rate. Investigation of activation energy and nucleation activity using Vyazovkin's and Dobreva's models revealed that the sample having the smallest ratio of MWCNT to OMMT had the lowest energy absorption and highest nucleation activity.