Molecular Mobility and Crystallizability in Poly(Ethylene Succinate)‐Based Nanocomposites Filled With Nanoparticles of 1–3 Dimensional Geometries at Low Contents

ABSTRACT A series of new polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) based on the poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu) filled with 1 wt% of four types of nanoparticles (NPs), namely, silica (SiO ₂ ), montmorillonite (MMT), graphene oxide (GO), and carbon nanotubes (CNT), were synthesized by simple mixing routes and investigated. PESu could be preserved amorphous, enabling the identification of the filler effects imposed directly on molecular mobility, glass transition, interfacial interactions, and crystallization. The formation of an interfacial polymer fraction of 6%–22% was found in the PNCs, whereas the glass transition temperature barely changed (−16°C to −14°C). From the molecular dynamics mapping, the main direct filler effect on molecular dynamics was recorded on the increased kinetic fragility of the α relaxation in PNCs. The NPs were found to hinder nucleation and crystal development during melt‐crystallization; nevertheless, they facilitated cold‐crystallization. The latter was correlated with the facilitated fragility. The effects on crystallization were found to be stronger in the NP order SiO ₂ < MMT < GO < CNT, in general, which coincided with the order of the filler Aspect Ratio increasing. The PESu/CNT PNCs exhibited electrically conductive behavior, indicative of CNT percolation. The results were compared with those previously recorded on similar PNCs based on the unavoidably semicrystalline poly(butylene succinate).