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Irregularly shaped DSC exotherms in the analysis of polymer crystallization

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Summary

This article details a study of irregularly shaped DSC exotherms of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) developed during isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization. Due to the extreme purity of the polymer, PHB crystallization is mainly initiated by homogeneous nucleation, with the formation of very large spherulites, especially under slow nucleation conditions. When the number of growing spherulites is low, the evolution of latent heat is very sensitive to every act of nucleation as well as to the space limitations in the process of growth, resulting in non-monotonous development of latent heat, with sudden increases and decreases in crystallization rates. This results in non conventional DSC exotherms, under given crystallization conditions, characterized by spikes or shoulders associated to nucleation of new spherulites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. c/o Comprensorio Olivetti, Istituto di Chimica e Tecnologia dei Polimeri (CNR), Via Campi Flegrei, 34, 80078, Pozzuoli, NA, Italy

    Maria Laura Di Lorenzo & Paola La Pietra

  2. Institute of Fundamental Technological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences, Świętokrzyska 21, 00-049, Warszawa, Poland

    Pawel Sajkiewicz & Arkadiusz Gradys

Authors
  1. Maria Laura Di Lorenzo
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  2. Pawel Sajkiewicz
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  3. Paola La Pietra
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  4. Arkadiusz Gradys
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Correspondence to Maria Laura Di Lorenzo.

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Di Lorenzo, M., Sajkiewicz, P., La Pietra, P. et al. Irregularly shaped DSC exotherms in the analysis of polymer crystallization. Polym. Bull. 57, 713–721 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-006-0621-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-006-0621-4

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