Fast Analytical Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF) of Polypropylenes

Analytical temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) is a complementary technique of gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for the analysis of polyolefin structure. By connecting a high-temperature GPC with a gas chromatograph (GC) oven it is possible to build a fast analytical TREF, which permits a dramatic reduction in analysis time by directly injecting the polymer solution onto the cold column, as compared with the traditional TREF in which the slow cooling step usually takes more than 40 h. The method was successfully applied on six commercial random and homo polypropylenes for which similar thermograms were obtained for fast- and slow-cooling TREF. The obtained results show subtle differences in the behavior of polypropylene melting in solution as compared with previously analyzed polyethylene. The most important is the difference of 12.6°C between the melting temperatures in the presence of trichlorobenzene and xylene, which is much higher for polypropylene than the 3.7°C measured for polyethylene.     

Correlation between GPC,DSC, and Analytical TREF for Linear Polyethylene

Analytical temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) of linear polyethylene (PE) samples with different densities was done in 1-chloronaphthalene using a gel permeation chromatograph (GPC) coupled with a gas chromatograph. The corrected peak elution temperatures completed the previously obtained data in trichlorobenzene, xylene, and dibutoxymethane. A mathematical correlation was found for diluted linear PE samples between the α parameter of the Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation governing the retention time in GPC, the bulk melting temperature measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the TREF peak elution temperature. The extrapolation to the melting temperature measured by DSC gives α = 0.5, thus confirming the hypothesis that polymer conformations in the melt are similar to those in a theta solvent.     

Use of FT-IR Spectrometry for On-Line Detection in Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation

Summary: Temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) has become a popular analytical technique that is able to determine the chemical composition distribution (CCD) of an ethylene/α-olefin copolymer. An infrared (IR) detector is commonly used in TREF detection to measure the concentration of the polymer solution exiting the column as a function of elution temperature. The chemical composition of the eluting polymer at a given elution temperature can be predicted from the relationship between comonomer content and TREF elution temperature pre-established through ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis of TREF fractions. In this article, a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer has been coupled with a TREF instrument to provide a more powerful tool for characterizing complex olefin copolymers. The Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique is used when analyzing the FT-IR spectra of the eluting polymer solutions. The power of on-line FT-IR detection in TREF is demonstrated using a few complex copolymer systems, such as ethylene-octene copolymer, polystyrene grafted ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer and ethylene-methyl acrylate copolymer.     

Crystallization Elution Fractionation and Thermal Gradient Interaction Chromatography. Techniques Comparison

Summary: The chemical composition distribution has been shown to be the most critical and discriminating parameter in understanding the performance of industrial polyolefins with non homogeneous comonomer incorporation. The chemical composition distribution is being analyzed by well known techniques such as temperature rising elution fractionation, TREF, crystallization analysis fractionation, CRYSTAF and crystallization elution fractionation, CEF. These techniques separate according to crystallizability and provide a powerful and predictable separation of components based on the presence of branches, irregularities or tacticity differences, independently of the molar mass. TREF, CRYSTAF and CEF can not be used, however, for the separation of more amorphous resins, and may not always provide the best solution for complex multi-component resins due to the existence of some co-crystallization. The application of high temperature interactive HPLC to polyolefins opened a new route to characterize these types of polymers. The use of solvent gradient HPLC for separation of polyethylene and polypropylene and the developments in HPLC on carbon based columns extended further the application of high temperature HPLC in polyolefins. A new approach has been developed recently using the carbon based column but replacing solvent gradient by a thermal gradient which facilitates the analysis of polyethylene copolymers and provides a powerful tool for the analysis of elastomers. Thermal gradient interaction chromatography (TGIC) is being compared with TREF and CEF with the analysis of model samples. The advantages/disadvantages of each technique are being investigated and discussed. The combination of TGIC and TREF/CEF provides an extended range of separation of polyolefins.     

Examples of Using 3D-GPC-TREF for Polyolefin Characterization

Summary: Selected examples of using 3D-GPC-TREF to solve polyolefin characterization problems are described in this paper. The term 3D-GPC-TREF stands for a home-build hybrid system of gel permeation chromatograph (GPC) coupled with the capability of the temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) that includes three online detectors, i.e. the infrared (IR), the differential-pressure viscometer (DP), and the light scattering (LS) detectors.     

Characterization of polyolefins by comprehensive high-temperature two-dimensional liquid chromatography (HT 2D-LC)

Temperature rising elution fractionation hyphenated to size exclusion chromatography (TREF × SEC) is a routine technique to determine the chemical heterogeneity of semicrystalline olefin copolymers. A serious limitation is its applicability to non crystallizing samples. Comprehensive high temperature two-dimensional liquid chromatography (HT 2D-LC) gives an alternative to characterize the chemical heterogeneity of copolymers irrespective of their crystallizability. We have hyphenated interactive HPLC, which separates polyolefins according to their chemical composition, with high-temperature size exclusion chromatography (SEC), which distinguishes polyolefins with regard to their molar mass at 160 °C. The first separation step was based on a selective adsorption of macromolecules on a Hypercarb® column packed with porous graphite particles and subsequent desorption by a gradient 1-decanol → 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene at 160 °C. The SEC column was calibrated with polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) standards and it turned out that the injection solvent from the first dimension influenced the elution of PP in the SEC column, while the retention of PE was virtually constant. HT 2D-LC was then used to separate a broad variety of polyolefin blends containing PE, PP with different microstructure, ethylene–propylene (EP) and ethylene–propylene–diene (EP(D)M) rubber and ethylene/1-hexene copolymers. For the first time it has been shown that the elution of iPP in the gradient HPLC is molar mass dependent. The results from the HT 2D-LC separation were compared to those from TREF × SEC-experiments. The particular advantage of HT 2D-LC over TREF × SEC is the fact that HT 2D-LC is also applicable to non crystallizing polyolefin samples. The new technique therefore resolves the problem to analyze the chemical heterogeneity of non crystallizing olefin copolymers like EP and EP(D)M copolymers.     

Elution Temperatures of Polyethylene Copolymers in Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF): Comparison in Xylene and Trichlorobenzene Diluents

Temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) became the preferred technique to characterize the short chain branching distribution of polyethylene copolymers. Due to technical limitations, preparative TREF (PTREF) is usually done in xylene, while trichlorobenzene is used in analytical TREF (ATREF). Attempts to correlate the TREF elution temperatures based on data published by different authors erroneously showed higher elution temperatures for xylene than for trichlorobenzene. Our study rectifies this error. The experiments were done in both solvents on the same analytical TREF instrument. For the analyzed polyethylene copolymers, we found that the average elution temperature in xylene is 3.7° ± 1°C lower than in trichlorobenzene.     

High‐density polyethylene fractionation with supercritical propane

During the development of column extraction techniques, two methods of separation were identified. The first method is based on altering polymer solubility by varying the ratio of solvent in a solvent/nonsolvent mixture at a constant temperature above the polymer melting point (gradient solvent elution fractionation). This method fractionates polymers according to molecular weight. The second method is based on altering polymer solubility by varying solvent temperature (temperature rising elution fractionation—TREF). TREF fractionates semicrystalline polymers with respect to their crystallizability, independently of molecular weight effects. In the present article, supercritical propane will be used to fractionate a high‐density polyethylene sample by molecular weight and short chain branching. The main advantage of supercritical fluid fractionation is that large polymer fractions with narrow molecular weight distributions (isothermal fractionation) or narrow short chain branching distributions (isobaric fractionation) can be obtained without using hazardous organic chlorinated solvents. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 553–560, 1999     

Crystallization Elution Fractionation of LLDPEs Made with Metallocene Catalysts

Summary: Temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) and crystallization analysis fractionation (CRYSTAF) fractionate semicrystalline polymers according to their crystallizabilities from dilute solution and have been widely used to measure the CCD of LLDPE. A new fractionation technique, known as crystallization elution fractionation (CEF), has been developed recently. The main difference between CEF and TREF and CRYSTAF is that the crystallization cycle in CEF is performed dynamically under solvent flow in a long column that contains an inert support material. In this paper, several metallocene-LLDPE resins have been analyzed by CEF to investigate the effect of cooling cycle parameters, comonomer fraction, polymer molecular weight, and blend cocrystallization on the fractionation. This new technique can be used to obtain CCDs with better resolution and in shorter times than TREF and CRYSTAF.     

Updated “Onion Skin” Model for Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation

Recent developments on the temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) technique, understanding the impact strength of polyethylene blends based on their chemical structure, as well as ongoing discussions on REACH legislation regarding the oligomer fraction of polymers, are all reasons for better comprehension of the separation mechanism in TREF. To achieve this goal, two carefully chosen blends of linear metallocene polyethylene were analyzed by TREF over a large domain of crystallization rates. The results allowed updating the “onion skin” model for the crystallization kinetics during the cooling step of TREF. The advantages and limitations of the TREF technique for different applications are discussed.     

Correlation of the elution behavior in temperature rising elution fractionation and melting in the solid‐state and in the presence of a diluent of polyethylene copolymers

Compositionally homogeneous poly(ethylene‐α‐olefin) random copolymers with 1‐butene and 1‐hexene comonomers have been studied. The melting of solution‐crystallized specimens of these copolymers in the presence of trichlorobenzene as a diluent with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is well correlated with analytical temperature rising elution fractionation (A‐TREF) elution temperature profiles. This indicates that the A‐TREF experiment is essentially a diluent melting experiment. Furthermore, the correction of the corresponding solid‐state melting endotherms of these copolymers with Flory's diluent melting equation yields curves that also correlate very well with the DSC diluent melting curves and the A‐TREF elution temperature profiles. Values of χ, the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter, are determined for these copolymers in trichlorobenzene. χ decreases as short‐chain branching increases. The A‐TREF elution temperature profiles of one of these copolymers are the same, within experimental error, for dilute‐solution crystallizations of the copolymer performed over an extremely broad time schedule (10 s to 3 days). This indicates the profound effect of the branches, as limiting points of the ethylene sequences, in controlling the crystal thickness distribution, which in turn controls the melting point in the presence of the diluent, or the elution temperature from the A‐TREF. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 39: 2819–2832, 2001     

Calibration curve establishment and fractionation temperature selection of polyethylene for preparative temperature rising elution fractionation

A series of copolymers of ethylene with 1-hexene synthesized using a metallocene catalyst are selected and mixed. The blend is fractionated via preparative temperature rising elution fractionation(P-TREF). All fractions are characterized via high-temperature gel permeation chromatography(GPC), 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy(13C-NMR), and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). The changes in the DSC melting peak temperatures of the fractions from P-TREF as a function of elution temperature are almost linear, thereby providing a reference through which the elution temperature of TREF experiments could be selected. Moreover, the standard calibration curve(ethylene/1-hexene) of P-TREF is established, which relates to the degree of short-chain branching of the fractions. The standard calibration curve of P-TREF is beneficial to study on the complicated branching structure of polyethylene. A convenient method for selecting the fractionation temperature for TREF experiments is elaborated. The polyethylene sample is fractionated via successive self-nucleation and annealing(SSA) thermal fractionation. A multiple-melting endotherm is obtained through the final DSC heating scan for the sample after SSA thermal fractionation. A series of fractionation temperatures are then selected through the relationship between the DSC melting peak temperature and TREF elution temperature.     

Short Chain Branches Distribution Characterization of Ethylene/1-Hexene Copolymers by Using TREF + 13C-NMR and TREF + SC Methods

Summary: Short chain branches distribution (SCBD) is the key factor for high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe materials to achieve their excellent performance for long term (50 years) applications. However, the precise SCBD characterization of these HDPE materials with relatively low content of comonomer incorporation still remained as a challenge in this field. In this work, two characterization methods, namely temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) cross step crystallization (SC) (TREF + SC) and TREF cross ¹³C-NMR (TREF + ¹³C-NMR), have been respectively used to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate the SCBD for two HDPE pipe materials (PE-1 and PE-2 with different long term performances) with small amount of 1-hexene incorporation prepared from SiO₂-supported silyl chromate catalyst system (S-2 catalyst) during UNIPOL gas phase polymerization. The comparison of SCBD between the two samples showed that: although short chain branches of PE-2 with good performance were less than those of PE-1 with bad performance, PE-2 showed less comonomer incorporation on the low crystallinity and low molecular weight (MW) fractions keeping even higher comonomer incorporation on the high crystallinity and high MW parts compared with PE-1. This difference on the SCBD for PE-1 and PE-2 was thought to be the key factor which is responsible for their great difference on environment slow crack resistance (ESCR). Moreover, TREF + SC method further reflected the intra- and inter-molecular heterogeneities of each fraction from the two HDPE samples through the lamella thickness distribution compared with TREF + ¹³C-NMR.     

Thermal,mechanical and electroactive shape memory properties of polyurethane (PU)/poly (lactic acid) (PLA)/CNT nanocomposites

Polymer blend nanocomposites based on thermoplastic polyurethane (PU) elastomer, polylactide (PLA) and surface modified carbon nanotubes were prepared via simple melt mixing process and investigated for its mechanical, dynamic mechanical and electroactive shape memory properties. Chemical and structural characterization of the polymer blend nanocomposites were investigated by Fourier Transform infrared (FT-IR) and wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD). Loading of the surface modified carbon nanotube in the PU/PLA polymer blends resulted in the significant improvement on the mechanical properties such as tensile strength, when compared to the pure and pristine CNT loaded polymer blends. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the PU/PLA blend slightly increases on loading of pristine CNT and this effect is more pronounced on loading surface modified CNTs. Thermal and electrical properties of the polymer blend composites increases significantly on loading pristine or surface modified CNTs. Finally, shape memory studies of the PU/PLA/modified CNT composites exhibit a remarkable recoverability of its shape at lower applied dc voltages, when compared to pure or pristine CNT loaded system.     

Analyzing TREF data by stockmayer's bivariate distribution

The Stockmayer bivariate distribution is used to qualitatively and quantitatively interpret TREF (temperature rising elution fractionation) spectra of polyolefins made by multiple site type catalysts. TREF spectra simulated by the proposed method can adequately fit experimental TREF data presented in the literature and can be used to help understand the mechanism of TREF separation and the nature of multiple site types catalysts.     

Block Index for Characterizing Olefin Block Copolymers

Summary: Olefin block copolymers produced by chain shuttling catalysis exhibit crystallinity characteristics that are distinct from what would be expected for typical random olefin copolymers with comparable monomer compositions produced from either ‘single-site’ or heterogeneous catalysis. Olefin block copolymers produced by chain shuttling catalysis have a statistical multiblock architecture. A unique structural feature of olefin-based block copolymers is that the intra-chain distribution of comonomer is segmented (statistically non-random). Fractionating an olefin block copolymer by preparative temperature rising elution fractionation, TREF, results in fractions that have much higher comonomer content than comparable fractions of a random copolymer collected at an equivalent TREF elution temperature. We have developed a “block index” methodology which quantifies the deviation from the expected monomer composition versus the analytical temperature rising elution fractionation, ATREF, elution temperature. When interpreted properly, this index indicates the degree to which the intra-chain comonomer distribution is segmented or blocked. The unique crystallization behavior of block copolymers determine the magnitude of the block index values because the highly crystalline segments along an otherwise non-crystalline chain tend to dominate the ATREF (and DSC) temperature distributions.     

Thermal stability of styrene–(ethylene butylene)–styrene-based elastomer composites modified by liquid crystalline polymer, clay, and carbon nanotube

The thermal decomposition behaviors of styrene?C(ethylene butylene)?Cstyrene (SEBS) thermoplastic elastomer filled with liquid crystalline polymer (LCP), organomontmorillonite (OMMT), and carbon nanotube (CNT) as a heat stabilizing filler, were comparatively investigated using nonisothermal- and isothermal-thermogravimetric analyses in air. The isoconversional method was employed to evaluate the kinetic parameters (E _a, lnA, and n) under dynamic heating. For neat samples, OMMT and CNT exhibited their respective lowest and highest thermal stabilities as revealed from the lowest and the highest T _onset values, respectively. The decomposition rates of the composites containing OMMT at the temperature >250?°C were higher than those containing CNT and LCP, respectively, whereas the elastomer matrix degraded with the highest rate. The obtained TG profiles and calculated kinetic parameters indicated that the incorporation of LCP, OMMT, and CNT into elastomer matrix improved the thermal stability. Especially, the CNT- and OMMT-containing composites significantly improved the thermal stability compared with the neat matrix polymer. Simultaneously recorded DSC thermograms revealed that the degradation processes for the neat polymers and their composites were exothermic in air. From the simultaneously recorded DSC data, the enthalpy of thermal decomposition for each composite system was found to be lower than that of the neat matrix and mostly decreasing with increasing filler loading. The isothermal decomposition stabilities of the neat SEBS and its composites containing the different fillers were in agreement with those of the nonisothermal investigation.     

Effect of Ethylene-Propylene Copolymer Composition on Morphology and Surface Properties of Impact Poly(propylene) Copolymer

Summary: Impact poly(propylene) copolymers (IPC) having various ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) compositions were prepared using a high activity Ziegler-Natta catalyst. EPR composition was characterized by temperature rising elution fractionation (TREF) analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Effect of EPR composition on the morphology and surface properties of IPC was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 3D profiler, and gloss meter. Composition and amount of amorphous and crystalline EPR were quantified by TREF and found to be dependent on the ethylene content in EPR. From the SEM result, it was found EPR composition has a strong influence on its shape and size. IPCs containing propylene-rich EPR exhibited a finer dispersion of EPR phase. The surface roughness decreased with decreasing ethylene content in EPR. The comparison of EPR composition and morphology and surface properties exhibited strong correlations.     

Modeling the fractionation process in TREF systems. II. Numerical analysis

Temperature raising elution fractionation (TREF) allows qualitative short chain branching (SCB) analysis in copolymers. In order to make the analysis quantitative, information on how such fractionation occurs must be incorporated into the interpretation of TREF spectra. In a previous work a model of the fractionation was proposed and some preliminary results given. In this article a rigorous mathematical analysis of the solution of the fractionation model is presented by defining two problems. The direct problem, of little practical use, helps to understand the fractionation process. The inverse problem consists in obtaining the distribution of crystallizable lengths (DCL) (directly related to the SCB distribution) from the TREF spectrum. This last problem (i.e., the main interest of this work) is explained in detail. TREF experiments are simulated solving the so-called direct problem using DCLs of different shapes. The synthetic TREF spectra are then processed using the inverse algorithm. The synthetic experiments demonstrate the adequacy of the proposed algorithm as a tool of analysis. A linear ethylene polymer was used to test, experimentally, the numerical procedure. The results obtained are in agreement with those obtained in earlier studies on the same sample by Raman spectroscopy. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.