Monitoring nonisothermal crystallization of thermoplastic polymers using a quartz crystal resonator

A new monitoring device for the nonisothermal crystallization of thermoplastic polymers, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyamide, is developed utilizing a quartz crystal resonator, and its performance is evaluated by comparing the measurements with the results of DSC thermoanalysis and microscopic observation. The experimental results of four different polymers indicate that the variation of resonant freency of the quartz crystal resonator is a good means to monitor the crystallization process. Though the measurements of melting and crystallization are close to the DSC outcome, more deviation is observed with the new device. The change in crystalline morphology during the crystallization process is also detected from the slope changes of the frequency decrease. In comparison with the microscopic observation of polymer films, it is found that the processes of nucleation and crystal growth in nonisothermal crystallization can be explained with the variation of the resonant frequency of the quartz crystal resonator. In addition, crystallization kinetics is modeled with the Avrami equation. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011