A DSC study of effect of carbon nanotubes on crystallisation behaviour of poly(ethylene oxide)

Crystallisation behaviour of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and PEO/chemically modified MWCNT nanocomposites were investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry. Non-isothermal crystallisation experiments showed that incorporation of MWCNT and chemically modified MWCNT reduced the crystallinity and restricted the spherical crystal growth of PEO. The nucleation sites decrease and spherical crystal size increased compared to the neat PEO. Change of crystal structure from spherical to disk-like was revealed by Avrami equation when MWCNT was added up to 1 wt.%.