Conformation orientation of syndiotactic polypropylene induced by deformation at different temperatures

Two syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) sample films (S0 and S90) with different initial structures were prepared in this paper by isothermal crystallization from the melt at 0 and 90 degrees C, respectively. The polymorphic transitions of the two samples induced by deformation at different temperatures (20, 40, and 60 degrees C) were investigated by rheo-optical FTIR spectroscopy. The results indicated that stretching leads to the transition from the helical to trans-planar conformation and improves the orientation of both helical and trans-planar conformations for the sPP films. With increasing stretching temperature, the conformational transitions for the two sPP samples are all suppressed, and the orientation behavior of the two samples appears completely different. The orientation degree of S0 decreases with increasing stretching temperature, while that of S90 increases. These results suggest that the stretching temperature and initial structure have great influence on the conformation transition and orientation behavior of the sPP sample. On the basis of the experimental results, the schematic illustration of the conformation transition and orientation behavior of sPP during stretching has been proposed.     

Crystallization kinetics of syndiotactic polypropylene

Melting-point and spherulite growth rate measurements for a sample of syndiotactic polypropylene (S = 0.716 and η = 0.356) were analyzed for the parameters characterizing crystal formation and growth: T_m = 159 ± 2°C, σ_e = 47 erg cm ^?2, σ = 4.4 erg cm^?2, and q = 5.6 kcal per mole of folds. The q and σ_e values place syndiotactic polypropylene in the group of “unhindered” polymers. Failure of the isotactic-polypropylene spherulite growth rate data to follow current theories of crystal growth precluded a comparison of crystal parameters of the two stereoisomers. At comparable degrees of supercooling, the absolute growth rates for the two forms are of the same order of magnitude and exhibit one or more crossover(s) in relative position.     

The features of syndiotactic polypropylene

The mechanism of stereoselectivity of propylene insertion in propylene-ethylene copolymerization on a C_S symmetrical zirconium complex i-Pr(Cp) (Flu) ZrCl₂ catalyst is discussed. Calculation results indicate that not only the β-carbon in the growing chain end of the polymer but also the substituent of the β-carbon play an important role in the selectivity of the prochiral face of the next-coming propylene monomer. The stereoregularity of propylene units connected to an ethylene unit (PPE) in propylene-ethylene copolymer was observed to be lower than that in propylene sequences (PPP) in the ¹³C NMR spectrum, which supports the calculation results. Furthermore, the structure and properties of propylene-olefin (ethylene, 1-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, and 4-methyl-1-pentene) copolymers prepared with the i-Pr(Cp) (Flu) ZrCl₂ catalyst system were studied. Propylene-1-butene copolymer exhibits peculiarly lower melting point depression because 1-butene units enter into the unit cell of the crystal structure of syndiotactic polypropylene.     

Physical aging of syndiotactic polypropylene

Syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) was quenched from the melt in an ice‐water bath, and changes in the structural organization, during the aging time, were followed by X‐rays, differential scanning calorimetry, and transport properties of dichloromethane at low activities. After 1 month, an increase of crystallinity from 19 to 26% was observed. In addition, the results of sorption and diffusion indicated a consistent increase of an intermediate phase not crystalline, yet impermeable to the vapors. The study of the mechanical properties showed that there is a remarkable increase of all the mechanical parameters with the aging time, and this effect was associated to the increase of the intermediate phase. The elastic modulus increased three times in the first hours of aging. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 173–180, 1999     

Aging of quenched polypropylene

Structural changes occurring during the aging of polypropylene quenched from the melt have been investigated by measurements of gas transport parameters and mechanical properties. Major changes in diffusion and sorption behavior during the first 30 hr of aging at room temperature were found to be strongly dependent on the atomic size of the inert gas penetrants. Tensile mechanical properties increased with aging time, while resilience and mechanical damping showed more complex behavior. The interpretation of the combined results suggests that the aging process may involve molecular rearrangements generally comparable to those for secondary crystallization processes, but within domains comparable in size to that of the smaller penetrant species. The relaxation of a residual stress distribution related to nonuniform plastic flow during quenching may be superimposed on the rearrangement phenomena.     

Monoaxial drawing behaviour of isotactic polypropylene quenched at different temperatures

Quenched films of isotactic polypropylene were obtained in different quenching conditions; the films structure was analyzed in terms of phases composition and gross morphology. The mechanical behaviour, analyzed at room temperature in monoaxial drawing shows that the initial structure strongly affects the drawing behaviour. The drawing occurs by necking propagation in all the samples, but the deformation in the neck depends on the gross morphology while the drawing load depends on crystallinity. The obtianed results are discussed on the basis of the molecular and structural model of the fibers formation by drawing of crystalline polymeric films.     

Preparation and characterization of syndiotactic polypropylene

The preparation and characterization of syndiotactic polypropylene are reported. The influence of polymerization variables on the syndiotactic regulating capacity of the VCl₄–AlEt₂Cl catalyst were investigated. Vanadates could be substituted for VCl₄, and Al(C₆H₅)₂Cl or AlEt₂Br for AlEt₂Cl under suitable conditions. Hydrogen functioned as a chain transfer agent for the AlEt₂Cl–VCl₄ catalyst, and polymerizations which were terminated with tritiated alcohols yielded polymers containing bound tritium. The syndio-regulating capacity of the AlEt₂Cl–VCl₄ catalyst was increased under specific conditions when cyclohexene, oxygen, or tert-butyl perbenzoate was incorporated. A polymerization mechanism is proposed. According to this mechanism, preference for a monomer complexing mode which minimizes steric repulsions between methyl groups of the new and last added monomer unit is responsible for syndiotactic propagation. Characterization included determination of infrared syndiotactic indices, melting points (65–131°C.), glass transition temperature, densities (0.859 to 0.885 g./cc.), nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, birefringence, differential thermal analysis spectrograms, solubility, and heat of fusion (～450 cal./mole).     

Morphology of drawn syndiotactic polypropylene films

Morphological studies were conducted to investigate the drawability of melt-quenched (MQ) and slowly cooled (MSC) films of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) with a high syndiotactic pentad fraction. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using the ruthenium tetraoxide staining and ultrathin sectioning method revealed that amorphous chains as the matrix of MQ film played a role in drawability of the film by their alignment to machine direction (MD) and partial crystallizations into nanofibrils. On the other hand, the initial strain induced, rotations of clusters of long lamellar crystals as the major entity of MSC film accompanying breaks of long lamellae and formation of crazes and microvoids at the cluster boundary. Compared with a homogeneous thinning of MQ film by drawing, ca. 100 nm-thick layer slips along MD and parallel to the film surface took place in MSC film. This gave rise to the formation of V-shaped bent lamellar morphology and their further break into a smaller cluster of stacked lamellae which were aligned oblique by ca. 35° from MD. With elongation, some nanofibrils formed from chains generated by the partial breaks of lamellae are aligned perpendicular to the remained oblique lamellae and others parallel to MD in region where lamellar morphology almost disappeared. No chain slips in the nanofibrils can be related to a low elongation at break, i.e. a low ductility of sPP films. The lower elongation at break for MSC film than for MQ one can be interpreted by microvoids initially formed in the neck region and later moved to the fully drawn part, the microvoids initiating the break of the drawn film.     

Annealing induced variation of crystalline structure and mechanical properties of syndiotactic polypropylene fibers

<正>Syndiotactic polypropylene(sPP) as-spun fiber(sPP1) and drawn fiber(sPP2) were prepared by melt-spinning and melt-spinning/hot-drawing,respectively.The structure transition of the two fibers induced by annealing at different temperatures and the corresponding mechanical properties were subsequently investigated by the combination of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),wide-angle X-ray diffraction(WAXD) and tensile testing.The results indicate that the chain conformation and crystal forms of the two sPP fibers are not obviously changed at low annealing temperature (40℃).With increasing the annealing temperature,the trans-planar conformation and mesophase in sPP1 and sPP2 fibers can be completely transformed to helical conformation and crystal form I under tension.Upon removing the tension,a small amount of mesophase and trans-planar conformation will be regained.The mechanical properties of the annealed fibers are manifestly dependent on their initial structure and the annealing temperature.     

Solvent induced polymorphism in supramolecular 1,3,5-benzenetribenzoic acid monolayers

This work presents a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) based study of benzenetribenzoic acid (BTB) monolayer structures at the liquid-solid interface. On graphite(0001) the tailored molecules self-assemble into 2D supramolecular host systems, suitable for the incorporation of other nanoscopic objects. Two crystallographically different BTB structures were found-both hydrogen bonded networks. A specific structure was deliberately selected by solvent identity. One of the BTB polymorphs is a 6-fold chicken-wire structure with circular, approximately 2.8 nm wide cavities. The other structure exhibits an oblique unit cell and a different hydrogen bonding pattern. The large cavity size of the chicken-wire structure was made possible through comparatively strong 2-fold hydrogen bonds between carboxylic groups. In addition, the low conformational flexibility of BTB was supportive to combat the tendency for dense packing.     

Synthesis and characterization of high-molecular-weight syndiotactic amorphous polypropylene

Heterocycle-fused titanium indenyl silylamido dimethyl complexes produce very high molecular weight polypropylene having a prevailingly syndiotactic microstructure with syndiotactic pentad contents rrrr up to 40-55% (sam-PP). The samples are basically amorphous and may slowly develop a low level of crystallinity (16-20%) at room temperature. A structural characterization has shown that sam-PP samples crystallize in disordered modifications of the helical form I of syndiotactic polypropylene (s-PP). The stretching of compression-molded films of sam-PP samples produce oriented crystalline fibers in the trans-planar mesomorphic form of s-PP. The low stereoregularity prevents the formation of the ordered trans-planar form III of s-PP, which instead is obtained in stretched fibers of the highly stereoregular and crystalline s-PP. The trans-planar mesomorphic form, obtained in stretched fibers, in turn transforms into the helical form I upon releasing the tension. The analysis of the mechanical properties has shown that sam-PP samples show good elastic behavior in a large range of deformation with remarkable strength, due to the presence of crystallinity. A comparison with the mechanical properties of less syndiotactic and fully amorphous samples is reported. These fully amorphous samples present lower strength and experience rapid viscous flow of the chains at high deformations and/or by application of stresses for long times. The higher strength in the semicrystalline sam-PP samples makes these materials interesting thermoplastic elastomers showing high toughness and ductility.     

On the crystallization behavior of cold-drawn syndiotactic polypropylene

The influence of the chain conformation on the crystallization behavior of cold-drawn syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) has been investigated. The conformational and structural changes depending on drawing conditions and thermal treatments has been observed by x-ray diffraction, infra-red spectroscopy and modulated differential scanning calorimetry. A nucleation and crystal growth model is introduced, which explains the low crystallinity of cold-drawn sPP.     

On the plastic deformation of bulk syndiotactic polypropylene

 The plastic deformation of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) bulk samples has been investigated. A structural comparison of the initial states before and after plastic deformation by necking is carried out by X-ray diffraction observations. Independent of the initial states (amorphous, semi-crystalline with different crystal phases), only the planar all-trans crystal form of sPP is present in the deformed samples after necking. Form these results, molecular mechanisms of the plastic deformation in the neck zone of semi-crystalline polymers will be discussed. Received: 11 February 1997 Accepted: 15 August 1997     

Structural analysis of minimized models for syndiotactic polypropylene

In previous work we have shown that the stable form of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) adopts a fully antichiral packing in its crystalline lattice. At the same time, we had also discovered a number of prohibited reflections from crystallographic planes with a c-axis component, indicating distortions or defects along the molecular-chain direction and possible departures from the ideal Ibca unit-cell structure. Three studies that appeared in 1996 have proposed a number of possible minimized structures to explore the energetics of departure from such an ideal Ibca symmetry and to account for the prohibited reflections. Two of the studies were based upon energy minimization of the unit cell using empirical or spectroscopically derived force fields. The third model was based upon Rietveld refinement of the bulk X-ray diffractogram combined with ad hoc choices of space groups selected to reproduce the prohibited reflections, and results in a structure with minimal departures from Ibca. In the present article we examine the structural implications of all these models on various reciprocal-lattice sections of sPP by comparing calculated electron-diffraction patterns for appropriate zones with those we obtained experimentally from single crystals. We find that none of the proposed models fully accounts for the experimental data. One of the energy-minimized models (involving translation along the molecular axis) and the Rietveld-refined structure reproduce some of the observed reflections but are not in agreement with observed intensities and introduce additional unobserved reflections or other artifacts. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 2523–2533, 1997     

Structure of the quenched form of polypropylene

X-ray diffraction has been used to further investigate the quenched form of polypropylene. The diffractometer traces were analyzed by a mathematical peak separation procedure which assumed a combined Cauchy and Gaussian shape for the peaks. The results confirmed that the quenched form contains about 60% of amorphous polypropylene. In the remainder, the x-ray diffraction peak positions indicate that the chain helices are arranged in a square array and a cubic or tetragonal symmetry is proposed for this phase. The shape of the x-ray diffractometer peaks indicates a degree of strain in the structure. Crystallite sizes, determined from peak breadths, have been estimated as approximately 30 Å.     

Amorphous phase and interphase organization of syndiotactic polypropylene

Materials prepared by syndiotactic polypropylene of different stereochemistry (62 ÷96% r pentads) undergo transitions in the crystal phase, which depend on the thermomechanical history. The interfaces and the amorphous phase may be affected by the crystallite organization and the stereoregularity of the material. MAS NMR techniques provided a tool for characterizing the arrangement and the mobility of the polymer chains in the inter-crystallite region. Chemical shifts, line-width and relaxation parameters were determined as a function of recording temperature and glass transition temperature of the material. The same parameters were followed in the presence of a plasticizer. The different degree of intimacy of the phases was established by following the diffusion of magnetization among the hydrogen atoms of the amorphous and the crystalline phase. Defective regions and boundary regions were also identified and showed a large amount of conformations in the trans arrangement; the relaxation times indicate the chains being rigid and intimately mixed with the crystalline phase.     

Changes of mechanical properties in cold-crystallized syndiotactic polypropylene during aging

Many semicrystalline polymers undergo a process of aging when they are stored at temperatures higher than their glass-transition temperature (T _g). Syndiotactic polypropylene was quenched from the melt to −40 °C, crystallized from the glassy state at 20 or 40 °C and stored at the respective temperature for different aging times up to 7200 h. A significant increase in the tensile modulus and stress at yield and a decrease in strain at yield were observed for both aging temperatures. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) scans of aged material showed an endothermic annealing peak 15–30 °C above the previous aging temperature, the maximum temperature and enthalpic content of which increased with aging time. The position and the shape of the melting peak were not affected by aging. Scans of the storage modulus obtained from dynamic mechanical analyser measurements indicated a softening process starting at about 20 °C above the aging temperature and correlating with the annealing peak detected by DSC. Density measurements and wide-angle X-ray scattering investigations revealed that neither the crystallinity increased significantly nor did the crystal structure change. So the observed property changes induced by aging are attributed to microstructural changes within the amorphous phase. Furthermore, it could be shown by annealing experiments carried out at 60 °C, that aging above T _g is, analogous to aging below T _g (physical aging), a thermoreversible process. Received: 18 September 2000 Accepted: 2 January 2001