Abstract
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a widely used polyester, which can be crystallized from the melt over a wide range of supercooling conditions or, alternatively, quenched into the amorphous state and, subsequently, crystallized by thermal treatment above the glass‐transition temperature. It is well known that the crystallization of PET can be hindered by means of copolymerization or reactive blending. The incorporation of comonomeric units into the polymer backbone leads to an irregular chain structure and thereby inhibits regular chain packing for crystallization. The crystallization of PET copolyesters is strongly influenced by the chain microstructure regarding comonomer distribution, randomness and length of the crystallizable ethylene terephthalate sequences. This paper is mainly devoted to the thermally induced crystallization behaviour of PET and to reviewing the efforts that have been made in the last decade to modify the glass‐transition and melting temperatures, the crystallinity and the crystallization rate of this polyester. Furthermore, some illustrative experimental data obtained from isothermal and non‐isothermal crystallization of PET are included in this study.
© 2003 Society of Chemical Industry