Abstract
In this work the crystallization kinetics of polyamide copolymer (PA) in PA/ ethylene-propylene-diene rubber (EPDM) thermoplastic vulcanizates was studied under non-isothermal and isothermal conditions from the melt. A differential scanning calorimeter was used to monitor the energetics of the crystallization process. The effects of rubber, compatibilizer, vulcanizing agents, and the process methods on the isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization of PA were investigated. Relative crystallinity develops in accordance with the time dependence described by the Avrami equation with the exponent n ≈ 3. The experimental results show that the EPDM rubber is not the nucleating agent in those samples that were not dynamically vulcanized. The addition of chlorinated polyethylene has no effect on the crystallization of PA. But in dynamically vulcanized samples the EPDM rubber is a nucleating agent and the addition of chlorinated polyethylene helps the EPDM to form fine and well-dispersed particles and improves the crystallization of PA.