Induced γ → α Crystal Transformation in Blends of Polyamide 6 and Liquid Crystalline Copolyester

The equilibrium melting temperatures and the induced γ → α crystal transformation in blends of random liquid crystalline copoly(oxybenzoate−ethylene terephthalate) at molar ratio 60/40 (P64) and polyamide 6 (PA6) under different thermal treatments were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray diffraction, respectively. It was found that the equilibrium melting temperatures of P64/PA6 blends depended strongly on the amount of P64, and the presence of a small amount of P64 in PA6, around 5%, induced additional crystallization of the α-form crystal in the quenched PA6. Moreover, the onset temperature for the γ → α crystal transformation in the 5/95 P64/PA6 blend was reduced by 30 °C as compared to that in the pure PA6 case (160 °C vs 130 °C).