THE EFFECT OF CURING ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION OF POLY(PHENYLENE SULFIDE)

Poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) was cured in the melt and solid states u nder air and/or nitrogen environments. Crystallization behavior of suc h cured materials as a function of cure time at 320 degrees C and 255 degrees C was studied via differential scanning calorimetry. It was fo und, in general, that while ''short-time'' curing leads to an increase in crystallization rate, prolonged curing leads to a decrease in both crystallinity and crystallization rate. In contrast to the enhanced c rystallization rate caused by curing in nitrogen at the melt state, no significant change of crystallization rate is observed while curing i s done in the solid state (in nitrogen).