Polymer, Vol.83, 205-213, 2016
Epitaxial crystallization of precisely fluorine substituted polyethylene induced by carbon nanotube and reduced graphene oxide
Crystallization of well-defined precision polyethylene with fluorine substituent on every 21st backbone carbon (PE21F) induced by low-dimensional carbonaceous nanofillers (carbon nanotube (CNT) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO)) via solution crystallization and supercritical CO2 assisted solution crystallization were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the morphology of carbonaceous nanofiller-induced PE21F crystals. The kebab-like and rod-like crystals formed on the CNT and RGO, respectively. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern revealed that the c-axis of polymer chain is parallel to the surface of the RGO. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed the melting temperatures (T-m) of PE21F lamellae nanocomposites increased with crystallization temperature increasing. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results showed that the incorporation of nanofillers did not influence the crystal structure of PE21F. The chemical composition of the PE21F nanocomposites measured by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) confirmed substituent F as a defect of chain was accommodated into the crystal lattice. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.