THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF POLY(BUTYLENE TEREPHTHALATE)(PBT) AND POLYCARBONATE (PC) IN THE POLYMER BLEND PBT/PC

The crystallization behavior of PBT as well as PC is changed in the controlled-processed blend due to intermolecular interactions between the different macromolecules in molten state. If the kinetics of the crystallization process prevents a crystallization-induced separation, the partial miscibility of the amorphous phases, measured by the glass transition temperatures, will lead to a decrease of the crystallinity of PBT. The crystallinity, normalized to the concentration of PBT in the blend, is independent from the concentration of PC at low cooling rates. At high cooling rates, PBT is crystallizing stepwise in the blend PBT/PC 40/60 wt.-%. The crystallization temperature in the anisothermic crystallization process is increased at low contents of PC due to a changed nucleation mechanism. The half-time of crystallization is increasing in blends with an increasing PC-content in isothermic crystallization experiments. The normally amorphous PC crystallizes considerably fast in presence of PBT in PC-rich blends. The crystallization or change in the state of order of PC was measured in situ by X-ray diffraction. Calorimetric experiments confirm this result and allow a quantitative estimation of the PC-crystallinity, which amounts to some 20% in the blend PBT/PC 5/95 wt.-%.