Preparation and crystallization behavior of polyoxymethylene/molybdenum disulfide nanocomposites

Polyoxymethylene/molybdenum disulfide (POM/MoS2) nanocomposites were prepared by means of in situ intercalation/polymerization. The intercalation mechanism was discussed. The structure of composites was confirmed by means of X-Ray diffractometer (XRD), and the results indicate that the interlayer spacing of MoS2 increases from 0613 nm to 1118 nm. The morphologies of POM/MoS2 nanocomposite were observed by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). This shows that the MoS2 has a good dispersion in the polymer matrix, and is still in a layer state. It can be concluded that POM/MoS2 is an intercalated nanocomposite. The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of POM and POM/ MoS2 were also investigated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) at various cooling rates. The Avrami analysis modified by Jeziorny was employed to describe the nonisothermal crystallization process of POM and POM/ MoS2. The results show that MoS2 plays a role of a nucleating agent for nonisothermal crystallization of POM. In comparison with pure POM, POM/MoS2 exhibits a faster crystallization rate and increases crystallization temperature.