An investigation of PLA/Babassu cold crystallization kinetics

In this work, poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based vegetal Babassu composites were compounded and their thermal properties ascertained. Babassu acted as a facilitator agent for the nonisothermal cold crystallization of PLA. Nonisothermal cold crystallization kinetics of PLA compounds was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry applying Ozawa and Mo models; the activation energy was evaluated by Friedman equation. Our results indicate that Mo's model describes the experimental data successfully; the maximum crystallization rates observed for PLA/Babassu composites are higher than that found for neat PLA. Ozawa model failed to provide an adequate description for the composites, mostly due to the neglected secondary crystallization and impingement of spherulites. Friedman analysis shows that 5 wt% Babassu filler reduced the activation energy of the crystallization process greatly, leading to a shorter crystallization time.