EFFECTS OF COUPLING AGENTS ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOR OF PP/T-ZnOw COMPOSITES

The objectives of this paper are to understand the crystallization behavior of polypropylene(PP)composites with surface modified tetra-needle-shaped zinc oxide whisker(T-ZnOw).T-ZnOw was surface modified with different coupling agents,such as silane coupling agents(KH-550,KH-560)and titanate coupling agent(NDZ-105),in order to improve the compatibility between PP and T-ZnOw.DSC and POM were used to characterize the melt and crystallization behavior and the crystalline structures of the composites,respectively.The results show that the surface modified T-ZnOw acts as a nucleating agent of PP crystallization,depending on the coupling agent used for modification.KH-550 and KH-560 have more apparent role in improving the interfacial interaction than NDZ-105 and induce PP crystallization at higher temperature and with smaller spherulites size.The results also suggest that the crystallization behavior depends on not only the content of coupling agent,but also the content of the surface modified T-ZnOw used in the composites.     

分子量对聚丙烯等温结晶的影响

<正> 在高聚物结晶动力学的研究中,分子量对结晶速率的影响是一个有实际意义和理论兴趣的研究课题,由于聚烯烃可以得到分子量变化范围相当宽(MW从10~3到10~6)的试样,因而它是研究结晶速率分子量依赖性较合适的对象,其中研究最多的是聚乙烯和聚丙烯。从前入的研究报道看来,影响聚丙烯结晶速率的因素比聚乙烯要复杂。除了聚丙烯可生成多种晶型结构,会影响其结晶速率以外,用不同聚合方法制备的试样,由于其链结     

Effect of nucleating agent on the brittle–ductile transition behavior of polypropylene/ethylene–octene copolymer blends

In the present work, α‐form nucleating agent 1,3:2,4‐bis (3,4‐dimethylbenzylidene) sorbitol (DMDBS, Millad 3988) is introduced into the blends of polypropylene/ethylene–octene copolymer (PP/POE) blends to study the effect of the nucleating agent on the toughness of PP/POE blends through affecting the crystallization behavior of PP matrix. Compared with the PP/POE blends, in which the toughness of the blends increases gradually with the increasing content of POE and only a weak transition in toughness is observed, addition of 0.2 wt % DMDBS induces not only the definitely brittle‐ductile transition at low POE content but also the enhancement of toughness and tensile strength of the blends simultaneously. Study on the morphologies of impact‐fractured surfaces suggests that the addition of a few amounts of DMDBS increases the degree of plastic deformation of sample during the fracture process. WAXD results suggest that POE induces the formation of the β‐form crystalline of PP; however, DMDBS prevents the formation of it. SEM results show that the addition of DMDBS does not affect the dispersion and phase morphologies of POE particles in PP matrix. DSC and POM results show that, although POE acts as a nucleating agent for PP crystallization and which enhances the crystallization temperature of PP and decreases the spherulites size of PP slightly, DMDBS induces the enhancement of the crystallization temperature of PP and the decrease of spherulites size of PP more greatly. It is concluded that the definitely brittle–ductile transition behavior during the impact process and the great improvement of toughness of the blends are attributed to the sharp decrease of PP spherulites size and their homogeneous distribution obtained by the addition of nucleating agent. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 577–588, 2008     

THE EFFECT OF CLAY DISPERSION ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION AND MORPHOLOGY OF POLYPROPYLENE／CLAY COMPOSITES

PP/clay composites with different dispersions, namely, exfoliated dispersion, intercalated dispersion and agglomerates and particle-like dispersion, were prepared by direct melt intercalation or compounding. The effect of clay dispersion on the crystallization and morphology of PP was investigated via PLM, SAXS and DSC. Experimental results show that exfoliated clay layers are much more efficient than intercalated clay and agglomerates of clay in serving as nucleation agent due to the nano-scale dispersion of clay, resulting in a dramatic decrease in crystal size (lamellar thickness and spherulites) and an increase of crystallization temperature and crystallization rate. On the other hand, a decrease of melting temperature and crystallinity was also observed in PP/clay composites with exfoliated dispersion, due to the strong interaction between PP and clay. Compared with exfoliated clay layers, the intercalated clay layers have a less important effect on the crystallization and crystal morphology. No effect is seen for samples with agglomerates and particle-like dispersion, in regard to melting temperature, crystallization temperature, crystal thickness and crystallinity.     

EFFECT OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF PDMS ON MORPHOLOGY AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PP/PDMS BLENDS

A series of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with varied molecular weights (M_w=3×10~6,1×10~6 and 0.5×10~6) were melt blended with PP to investigate the effect of PDMS molecular weight (MW) on the morphology and mechanical properties of PP/PDMS blends.Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination showed that the size of PDMS domains was dependent on the MW of PDMS.It was found that the lower the value of PDMS MW,the better dispersion of the PDMS domains in the PP matrix.Tensile and Izod impact tests reveale...     

EFFECT OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF PDMS ON MORPHOLOGY AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PP/PDMS BLENDS

 A series of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with varied molecular weights (Mw = 3 &#61620; 106, 1 &#61620; 106 and 0.5 &#61620; 106) were melt blended with PP to investigate the effect of PDMS molecular weight (MW) on the morphology and mechanical properties of PP/PDMS blends. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) examination showed that the size of PDMS domains was dependent on the MW of PDMS. It was found that the lower the value of PDMS MW, the better dispersion of the PDMS domains in the PP matrix. Tensile and Izod impact tests revealed that the addition of PDMS with lower MW would lead to a more significant increase in impact strength of the blends compared with the blends with higher MW ones, while the influence of the molecular weight on tensile strengths of the blends was relatively small in the MW range studied. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results also showed that the crystallization temperature of PP was increased with decreasing PDMS MW, indicating a better nucleation capability of lower MW of PDMS. Melting flow rate (MFR) measurements indicated that the processibility of PP could be enhanced by adding PDMS, and again the lower MW PDMS resulted in better data. Our work demonstrates that not only the processibility but also the mechanical properties of PP could be enhanced to a more significant degree by using low MW PDMS than the higher ones.     

GMA/苯乙烯多组分单体接枝聚丙烯结晶行为研究

使用差示扫描量热计 (DSC)研究了甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯 苯乙烯 (GMA St)多单体熔融接枝聚丙烯[PP g (GMA co St) ]的等温和非等温结晶行为 ,用偏光显微镜观察了结晶的形态 ,并利用Avrami方程对其结晶动力学进行了分析 .研究发现接枝聚丙烯的结晶模式与PP相似 ,属于异相成核控制的球晶三维生长 ;但接枝聚丙烯的结晶温度 (Tc)显著提高 ,幅度高达 16～ 19℃ ,总结晶速率与纯PP相比明显加快 .接枝聚丙烯上GMA co St支链的存在 ,降低了成核界面自由能 ,促进了聚丙烯结晶的异相成核 .在接枝率不太高的情况下 ,随着接枝率的提高 ,接枝聚丙烯的结晶温度升高 ,总结晶速率加快 .在高接枝率范围内 ,随着接枝率的提高 ,接枝PP的Tc 不再升高 ,且由于接枝链的增长严重阻碍了球晶生长 ,导致接枝PP的总结晶速率反而随接枝率的升高而下降     

The effect of nucleating agent on radiation stability of polypropylene

The radiation stability of polypropylene (PP) with and without nucleating agent (NA) is compared in relation to radiation sterilization of medical devices. In both cases high-and-low-molecular weight PP, the addition of NA increased the transparency and peak crystallization temperature of the PP. On the other hand, in poly(propylene-co-6%ethylene) copolymer, the addition of NA did not improve the transparency but crystallization occurred at higher temperature. Thus, adding NA to PP and copolymer give the advantage of shorter moulding time in the production of medical devices. It is found that both PP and copolymer with NA are less stable during irradiation and during storage after irradiation than without NA, this being the case especially for the lower molecular weight PP. The higher transparency and peak crystallization temperature in the PP and CP with NA were found to be due to smaller spherulites. As the effect of irradiation on polymer, addition of NA induce reduction of radiation stability of polymer owing to the change in morphology.     

Shear-induced crystallization in phase-separated blends of isotactic polypropylene with ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer

The compatibility between isotactic polypropylene(i PP) and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer(EPDM) in the blends was studied. SAXS analysis indicates that i PP and EPDM phases in the binary blend are incompatible. Isothermal crystallization behaviors of i PP in phase-separated i PP/EPDM were studied by in situ POM equipped with a Linkam shear hot stage. It was found that typical spherulites of i PP were formed both in neat i PP and in i PP/EPDM blends. The radial growth rate(d R/dt) of spherulites of i PP in the blend was not influenced by EPDM phases. Further investigations on isothermal crystallization of i PP in i PP/EPDM after shear with a fixed shear time showed that the crystallization rate of i PP in the blends increased with increasing shear rates, whereas, the crystallization rate was much lower than that of neat i PP. WAXD results showed that ?-crystal i PP was formed in neat i PP as well as in i PP/EPDM blends after shearing and the percentage of ?-crystal bore a relationship to the applied shear rate. The presence of EPDM resulted in lower percentage of ?-crystal in the blends than that in neat i PP under the same constant shear conditions. SAXS experiments revealed that shear flow could induce formation of oriented lamellae in i PP and i PP in the blends, and the presence of EPDM led to a reduced fraction of oriented lamellae.     

Isothermal crystallization behavior of exfoliated‐PP/IMMT nanocomposites via in situ polymerization

Highly exfoliated isotactic‐polypropylene/alkyl‐imidazolium modified montmorillonite (PP/IMMT) nanocomposites have been prepared via in situ intercalative polymerization. TEM and XRD results indicated that the obtained composites were highly exfoliated PP/IMMT nanocomposites and the average thickness of IMMT in PP matrix was less than 10 nm, and the distance between adjacent IMMT particles was in the range of 20–200 nm. The isothermal crystallization kinetics of highly exfoliated PP/IMMT nanocomposites were investigated by using differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) and polarized optical microscope (POM). The crystallization half‐time t_1/2, crystallization peak time t_max, and the Avrami crystallization rate constant K_n showed that the nanosilicate layers accelerate the overall crystallization rate greatly due to the nucleation effect, and the crystallization rate was increased with the increase in MMT content. Meanwhile, the crystallinity of PP in nanocomposites decreased with the increase in clay content which indicated the PP chains were confined by the nanosilicate layers during the crystallization process. Although the well‐dispersed silicate layers did not have much influence on spherulites growth rate, the nucleation rate and the nuclei density increased significantly. Accordingly, the spherulite size decreased with the increase in MMT content. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 2215–2225, 2009     

Fractionated and Confined Crystallization of Polybutene-1 in Immiscible Polypropylene/Polybutene-1 Blends

In this work,the crystallization of immiscible polypropylene(PP)/polybutene-1(PB)blends,in particular the effect of crystal morphology of PP(HTC,high Tm component)on the subsequent crystallization behavior of PB(LTC,low Tm component)was studied.Herein,we firstly indicated that PP/PB blends were not completely compatible but characterized as the LCST-like phase diagram above the melting temperature of PP.Crystallization of PP at different crystallization temperatures brought about different PP crystal morphologies and PB was segregated and confined at different locations.Much larger-sized domain of PB component appeared in PP spherulites resulting from the effects of non-negligible phase separation and the slower PP crystallization rate as PP crystallized at high temperature.As temperature continued to fall below Tm of PB,the fractionated and confined crystallization of PB occurred in the framework of PP spherulites,reflected by the decreased crystallization temperature(Tc)of PB and the formation of form I′beside form II.Notably,if PP previously crystallized at high Tc,fractionated crystallization of PB became predominant and confined crystallization of PB became weak due to the much wider droplet-size distribution of PB domains.     

CRYSTALLINE MORPHOLOGY IN A SERIES OF CH3-SUBSTITUTED THERMOTROPIC AROMATIC POLYESTERS WITH EVEN AND ODD FLEXIBLE SPACERS*

 Crystalline morphology in a series of CH₃-substituted main chain thermotropic aromatic polyesters with even and odd numbered methylene spacers has been studied by polarizing optical microscopy (POM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). On crystallization from solution evaporation spherulites of radial structure were observed in the polymers with even numbered spacers, but spherulites with concentric rings form in the polymer with odd numbered spacers. Both spherulites have a lamellar structure, which is about 10 nm in thickness. On crystallization from nematic glassy state spherulites can not be grown; lamellar structure was only observed around disclinations in a specimen during crystallization. In the case of crystallization from nematic melt two types of spherulites can be observed for the sample with even numbered spacers. For the sample with odd numbered spacers spherulites can not be formed, but only irregular crystallites.     

Influence of N,N,N′,N′-tetraalkyl terephthalamide on isothermal crystallization kinetics and morphology evolution of polypropylene

The influence of N,N,N′,N′-tetraalkyl terephthalamide (TATA) on the isothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene (PP) was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was found that TATA shows a heterogeneous nucleation effect and leads to the formation of β-PP. TATA can not only shorten the crystallization time but also heighten the crystallization temperature of PP. The crystallization rate constant of PP containing TATA is larger than that of pure PP. The evolution of crystalline morphology of PP was investigated on a polarized optical microscopy (POM) equipped with a hot stage and the results showed that the introduction of TATA into PP can quicken the crystallization of PP, which is consistent with DSC results. TATA also leads to a substantial decrease in the spherulite size of PP and the boundaries of spherulites are hardly distinguished.     

向列相液晶共聚物作为β晶成核剂对等规聚丙烯结晶结构与热性能的影响

采用接枝聚合的方法,合成了一种新型聚硅氧烷类向列相液晶共聚物(LCP-H4),然后将LCP-H4与PP在一定工艺条件下密炼共混,得到了一系列的共混样品,采用WAXD、POM与DSC等研究了LCP-H4作为成核剂对PP样品结晶结构、形态与热性能的影响.结果表明,具有独特"液晶"性能的LCP-H4为PP结晶提供了更多的带自由能的晶核与较多的活性点,起到了异相成核的作用,既提高了PP的结晶速度、结晶温度和结晶度,又减小了球晶的尺寸,同时也改变了PP的结晶结构、形态及热力学与动力学,诱导出了β晶.此外,随着增加LCP-H4的含量及结晶温度,对应PP试样的β晶含量(Kβ)呈现先增加后降低的趋势,当LCP-H4含量为0.9%,在128℃等温结晶1h,对应成核PP的Kβ最大,为54%.     

Crystallization behavior of dynamically cured polypropylene/epoxy blends

Dynamically cured polypropylene (PP)/epoxy blends compatibilized with maleic anhydride grafted PP were prepared by the curing of an epoxy resin during melt mixing with molten PP. The morphology and crystallization behavior of dynamically cured PP/epoxy blends were studied with scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and polarized optical microscopy. Dynamically cured PP/epoxy blends, with the structure of epoxy particles finely dispersed in the PP matrix, were obtained, and the average diameter of the particles slightly increased with increasing epoxy resin content. In a study of the nonisothermal crystallization of PP and PP/epoxy blends, crystallization parameter analysis showed that epoxy particles could act as effective nucleating agents, accelerating the crystallization of the PP component in the PP/epoxy blends. The isothermal crystallization kinetics of PP and dynamically cured PP/epoxy blends were described by the Avrami equation. The results showed that the Avrami exponent of PP in the blends was higher than that of PP, and the crystallization rate was faster than that of PP. However, the crystallization rate decreased when the epoxy resin content was greater than 20 wt %. The crystallization thermodynamics of PP and dynamically cured PP/epoxy blends were studied according to the Hoffman theory. The chain folding energy for PP crystallization in dynamically cured PP/epoxy blends decreased with increasing epoxy resin content, and the minimum of the chain folding energy was observed at a 20 wt % epoxy resin content. The size of the PP spherulites in the blends was obviously smaller than that of PP. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1181–1191, 2004     

聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯结晶过程中的反常行为

聚合物的结晶是高分子链由无序转变为在三维空间中有规则排列的过程。实现转变的外界条件主要是温度和时间。近年来,人们借助偏光显微镜法(PLM)、小角激光光散射法(SALS)等研究聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)的结晶形态已有不少报导。     

Crystallization behavior of polypropylene with or without sodium benzoate as a nucleating agent

The crystallization kinetics of polypropylene (PP) with or without sodium benzoate as a nucleating agent were investigated by means of DSC and polarized optical microscopy in isothermal and nonisothermal modes. A modified Avrami equation was applied to the kinetic analysis of isothermal crystallization. The addition of the nucleating agent up to its saturation concentration increased the crystallization temperature by 15 °C and shortened both the isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization half‐times. It was concluded that the sodium benzoate acted as a good nucleating agent for α‐form PP. By adding the nuclefier to PP, adequately controlled spherulites increased the mechanical properties including especially the Izod impact strength and shortened cycle time of PP. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 1001–1016, 2001     

The mechanism for fracture resistance in β‐nucleated isotactic polypropylene

The effects of molecular weight (MW) of isotactic polypropylene (iPP), the content of β‐PP, the size of its spherulites and the morphology of its α‐phase and β‐phase (α‐ and β‐PP) on the impact strength, with different contents of β‐nucleating agent, were investigated by two ways. The results show that the impact strength of iPPs increased initially, and then decreased with the content of β‐nucleating agent (maximum at 0.1 wt%). The impact strength was related to the size of β‐spherulites and had no apparent correlation with the content of β‐PP. The morphology of the bundle shape and intercrossing boundaries of β‐spherulites were dominant in improving impact strength with low content of β‐nucleating agent, while the MW of iPP was dominant with high content of β‐nucleating agent. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

阻燃聚丙烯体系结晶动力学研究

本工作利用JJY-1型结晶速率仪对几种典型的阻燃聚丙烯共混体系的结晶行为进行了研究,发现不同的阻燃剂对PP的结晶行为有不同的影响。阻燃剂APP对PP的结晶具有较强的成核作用。但过量的APP对PP结晶生长有明显的阻碍作用。阻燃剂TBE对PP结晶也体现异相成核作用。阻燃剂PER由于增加PP结晶过程的分子链段折叠能而对PP结晶起阻碍作用。阻燃剂TPP对PP的结晶行为影响较弱。     

2-溴丙酰基末端对于PLLA成核行为影响的研究

通过研究2-溴丙酰基单封端的PLLA结晶行为,来探讨聚合物结晶过程中的端基效应.首先通过开环聚合的方法(ROP),以苯甲醇为引发剂,合成了聚(L-乳酸)(PLLA).再将PLLA自由末端的羟基转化为2-溴丙酰基,得到2-溴丙酰基单封端的PLLA-Br.研究表明,2-溴丙酰基末端引入后,聚合物链段运动能力受到抑制,PLL...