Chain Extension and Thermal Behavior of Recycled Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) Modified by Reactive Extrusion with Triphenyl Phosphite

Abstract

Reactive extrusion experiments of recycled PET fabrics (R-PET) were carried out in a Haake torque rheometer with triphenyl phosphite (TPP) and thermal behavior of modified R-PET was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The reaction mechanism which TPP acts as a cross-linker is verified by the experiment of phosphorus elemental analysis. DSC results show the presence of reaction residues may not modify melting temperature Tm and crystallization temperature Tc is controlled by the combined effect of molecular weight and reaction residues.