Reconstruction of core-shell dispersed particles in impact polypropylene copolymer during extrusion

We reported an approach to reconstruct the complex phase morphology of impact polypropylene copolymer(IPC) with core-shell dispersed particles and to optimize its toughness in approximate shear condition. The molten-state annealing results indicate that the phase structure with core-shell dispersed particles is unstable and could be completely destroyed by static annealing, resulting in the degradation of impact strength. By using a co-rotating twin screw extruder, we found that the dispersed particle with core-shell structure could be rebuilt in appropriate condition with the recovery of excellent impact strength due to both the huge interfacial tension during solidification and the great difference in viscosity of components. Results reveal that almost all the extruded IPCs show the impact strength 60%-90% higher than that of annealed IPCs at room temperature. And the twice-extruded IPC shows the highest impact strength, 446% higher than that of IPC annealed for 30 min. As for low temperature tests, the impact strength of extruded IPCs also increases by 33%-58%. According to adjusting the processing conditions including extrusion speed, extrusion frequency and temperature, an optimization of toughness was well established.     

Annealing induced microstructure and mechanical property changes of impact resistant polypropylene copolymer

The effects of annealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of an impact resistant polypropylene copolymer(IPC) were investigated. Different annealing temperatures ranging from 80 °C to 160 °C were selected. The phase reorganization of IPC during annealing process was studied through morphological characterization technologies, including scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The crystalline structure changes in the IPC sample, including the i PP matrix and PE component, were investigated using wide angle X-ray diffraction(WAXD) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). Dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA) was used to analyze the relaxation extent of IPC before and after annealing. The results showed that annealing induced phase reorganization in IPC and the degree of phase reorganization depended on annealing temperature. The annealed IPC samples exhibited largely increased crystallinity compared with the unannealed one. Intensified damping peak with increased molecular chain mobility was achieved for the annealed IPC samples. At an appropriate annealing temperature(140 °C), largely enhanced impact strength was achieved for the annealed IPC sample. The toughening mechanisms were analyzed based on the phase reorganization and relaxation behavior.     

Characterization of the microstructure of impact polypropylene alloys by preparative temperature rising elution fractionation

Two polypropylene alloys (Samples A and B), as impact polypropylene (PP) with similar ethylene contents and melt indices but different impact properties at low temperatures, are fractionated into eight fractions using preparative temperature rising elution fractionation. The microstructure of the original samples and their fractions are studied using high-temperature gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results indicate that the two alloys are mainly composed of four portions: ethylene–propylene random copolymer (EPR), ethylene–propylene segmented copolymer, ethylene–propylene block copolymer, and propylene homopolymer. Sample A contains more EPR and more fractions with higher isotacticity eluted at 120 and 140 °C than Sample B. The difference in the microstructure distributions of both PP alloys results in observable differences in their mechanical properties: Sample A has better impact toughness and possesses higher rigidity than Sample B. Sample A also exhibits better balance between toughness and stiffness.     

Phase separation and the kinetics of phase coarsening in commercial impact polypropylene copolymers

The phase segregation and subsequent minor phase coarsening of a commercial impact polypropylene copolymer was studied. The major components of the impact polypropylene copolymer studied were 82.4 wt % polypropylene homopolymer and 17.6 wt % ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR). The system was artificially manipulated to ensure homogeneity by precipitation from solution with a nonsolvent. This ensured that the initial system did not exhibit large-scale phase segregation. The homogeneous initial system was subjected to storage in the melt at 193°C for a series of times. The two-phase morphology of commercial impact polypropylenes was generated in the melt state by storage in the melt for various periods of time from 5 s to 1 h. Small nuclei of particles appeared at short time and increased in volume with increasing time in the melt state. The coarsening of the minor phase EPR component was shown to follow the theoretically predicted d ～ t^1/3 and N ～ t^?1 (where d = diameter, N = number of particles, and t = time in the melt) relationships to a close approximation in accord with Ostwald ripening theory. At short times these relationships were not obeyed. The indication was that the long-time coarsening regime was not entered until several minutes elapsed in the melt state. The particle size distribution was initially quite narrow and exhibited a trend of broadening at longer times of coarsening. This may be due to a shift from the short-time regime to the long-time coarsening regime. The initial polymer, which was precipitated from solution, was shown not to have undergone large-scale phase segregation in that it exhibited a one-phase morphology (i.e., no particles with > 0.1 μm diameter) as determined by ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy. The precipitated blend produced incipient particle nuclei (> 0.1 μm diameter) after a very short time (5 s) in the melt state. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

抗冲聚丙烯共聚物熔体结构演化的动态流变学表征

用动态流变学方法研究了抗冲聚丙烯共聚物(IPC)熔体的流变行为.通过探讨温度、抗氧剂、氧气的存在对其熔体动态粘弹响应的影响,对IPC熔体结构的演化过程进行了描述.随温度的升高,IPC熔体的动态粘弹响应明显改变,低频率(ω)区域动态储能模量(G′)与ω的对数关系lgG′-lgω呈现平台特征;加入复合抗氧剂B215或在N2气氛下,在一定的时间范围内,IPC的特征粘弹行为完全消失,呈现均相体系的流变响应特征.低ω区域粘弹函数对IPC的结构变化存在敏感响应.通过改变温度、添加抗氧剂以及N2保护,获得了IPC熔体因降解与交联反应所引起的结构改变的信息.     

Influence of shearing on impact polypropylene copolymer: Phase morphology,thermal and rheological behavior

The influences of shearing conducted by a Brabender rheometer on phase morphology,thermal and rheological behavior of a commercial impact polypropylene copolymer(IPC) were studied.The crystallization and melting traces show that short-time annealing at 210°C is unable to completely erase the influence of shearing on the samples.When the samples which were treated at a rotation speed of 80 r/min crystallize at a cooling rate of 10 K/min,their 7_cs and corresponding T_ms obviously rise with the increase of shearing time.Furthermore,the POM results reveal that the shearing can lead to the formation of shish-kebab and the shish-kebab amount is proportional to shearing time.The rheological measurement results show that the treated samples exhibit different G’~ωdependences.The ’second plateau’ appears when the sample is treated at a rotation speed of 60 r/min or 80 r/min for 10 min,and linear G’~ωdependence is observed at other rotation speeds.In addition,it is found that the appearance of the ’second plateau’ depends on the shearing time when the rotation speed is fixed. According to SEM observations,it is proposed that the ’second plateau’ of IPC samples should be ascribed to the aggregation of dispersion particles.     

Synthesis of PP graft copolymers via anionic living graft-from reactions of polypropylene containing reactive p-methylstyrene units

In this article, we discuss a new chemical route for preparing polypropylene (PP) graft copolymers containing a PP backbone and several (polar and nonpolar) polymer side chains, including polybutadiene, polystyrene, poly(p-methylstyrene), poly(methyl methacrylate), and polyacrylonitrile. The new PP graft copolymers had a controlled molecular structure and a known PP molecular weight, graft density, graft length, and narrow molecular weight distribution of the side chains. The chemistry involves an intermediate poly(propylene-co-p-methylstyrene) copolymer containing few p-methylstyrene (p-MS) units. The methyl group in a p-MS unit could be lithiated selectively by alkylithium to form a stable benzylic anion. Because of the insolubility of the PP copolymer at room temperature, the excess alkylithium could be removed completely from the lithiated polymer. By the addition of the anionically polymerizable monomers, including polar and nonpolar monomers, the stable benzylic anions in PP initiated a living anionic graft-from polymerization at ambient temperature to produce PP graft copolymers without any significant side reactions. The side-chain length was basically proportional to the reaction time and monomer concentration. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 4176–4183, 1999     

Microstructure, morphology, crystallization and rheological behavior of impact polypropylene copolymer

Impact polypropylene copolymer (IPC), named polypropylene catalloy, not only possesses excellent impact property, but also presents good rigidity. Its superior performances result from the complicated composition and microstructure. In the present article, recent progress in the studies on microstructure, morphology, crystallization and rheological behavior of IPC is summarized, and findings of the authors and their collaborators are reported. In general, IPC is divided into three components, i.e., ethylene-propylene random copolymer (EPR), a series of different segment lengths ethylene-propylene copolymer (EbP) and propylene homopolymer. The reasonable macromolecular structures of EbP and a multilayered core-shell model of dispersed phase structure in IPC were proposed, in which the dispersed phase consists of an outer EbP shell, an inner EPR layer and an EbP core. It is found that the annealing at melt-state may lead to an abnormal phase inversion, and the phase inversion disappears when temperature cools down to room temperature. The cause of phase inversion is ascribed to the existence of EbP component, which results in the stronger activity of the dispersed phase. The crystalline structure and morphologic results confirm the formation of β-iPP in IPC. Furthermore, it is found that the ethylene content in IPC and cooling rate of the samples have an important influence on the formation of β-iPP. Based on the crystallization kinetics analyzed by Lauritzen-Hoffman theory, crystallization behavior of different IPC samples is discussed and it is proposed that the dilution effect of ethylene propylene copolymer has a more remarkable influence on surface nucleation than on crystal growth. In addition, annealing at high temperature can result in the changes of chain structure for IPC, and this instability is ascribed to the oxidative degradation and crosslink reaction mainly in iPP component.     

Optimization of scratch resistance and mechanical properties in wollastonite‐reinforced polypropylene copolymers

The aim of this research was to establish a balance between scratch resistance and scratch damage visibility in the wollastonite‐filled heterophasic polypropylene copolymers.The influences of various factors including the surface hardness, elasticity, friction coefficient, and combinations thereof on the scratch behavior (scratch resistance and scratch visibility) were elucidated. Using micro‐scale and nano‐scale scratch tests and image analysis techniques, the scratch hardness, scratch depth, and scratch visibility of the composites were characterized.It was found that the introduction of wollastonite in the polypropylene copolymer matrix contributes to ductile fracture behavior because of an induced crystallization alteration. Accordingly, the scratch resistance of reinforced composites revealed an increase as a result of higher stiffness of the wollastonite as well as contribution of new crystalline structure. The addition of siloxane to the composites improved the resistance to surface damage by lowering the surface friction coefficient originated from enhanced chain mobility. Simultaneous addition of high density polyethylene and siloxane induced a significant influence on the resistance to the scratch damage. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of polypropylene block copolymers from brominated styrene-terminated isotactic polypropylene

Isotactic polypropylene block copolymers, isotactic-polypropylene-block-poly (methyl methacrylate) (i-PP-b-PMMA) and isotactic-polypropylene-block-polystyrene (i-PP-b-PS), were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using a brominated styrene-terminated isotactic polypropylene macroinitiator synthesized from bromination of styrene-terminated isotactic polypropylene. The styrene-terminated isotactic polypropylene can be obtained by polymerization of propylene in the presence of styrene and hydrogen chain transfer agents using a rac-Me₂Si[2-methyl-4-(1-naphyl)Ind]₂ZrCl₂ as catalyst. The molecular weights of isotactic polypropylene block copolymers were controlled by altering the amount of hydrogen used in the polymerization of propylene and the amount of monomer used in the blocking reaction. The effect of i-PP-b-PS block copolymer on PP-PS blends and that of i-PP-b-PMMA block copolymer on PP-PMMA blends were studied by scanning electron microscopy.     

Effect of multiple extrusion on molecular structure of polypropylene impact copolymer

Neat and multiple processed polypropylene impact-copolymer (ICPP) were fractionated using series of hydrocarbon solvents with increasing solvent power. The analyses of the fractions obtained in successive extractions showed significant decrease in weight-average molecular weight (Mw) and narrowing the molecular weight distribution (MWD) of investigated samples after extrusions. Although the changes due to thermooxidation were observed in all phases of the system, the most intensive degradation was found in the prevailing PP homopolymer phase.     

Peptide fractionation by acid pH SDS-free electrophoresis

SDS-free polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is an effective alternative approach to peptide fractionation. Here we describe a discontinuous buffer system at acid pH that improves the separation of acidic peptides from tryptic digestion. MOPS and chloride act as trailing and leading ions, respectively, in this system, while histidine operates as counterion and buffers all solutions. In these electrophoretic conditions, peptides with pI below 5.5 migrate with low overall electrophoretic mobilities but high differences from one another, which allows for their efficient resolution. In silico analysis of several proteomes shows that the acid pH system allows a peptide simplification of 2.5-fold with respect to the total peptide mixture, and still a proteome coverage of about 95% is achievable. A straightforward method with a protocol including proteomic studies was achieved for SDS-PAGE of proteins, enzyme treatment and further peptide fractionation by SDS-free acid PAGE.     

抗冲共聚聚丙烯及其级分的流变学研究

比较了抗冲共聚聚丙烯(IPC)和等规聚丙烯(iPP)熔体的动态流变行为, 确定了IPC的乙丙无规共聚物(EPR)、乙丙嵌段共聚物(EbP)和丙烯均聚物(HPP)3种级分的熔体动态流变行为. 研究发现, IPC在低频区域表现出偏离经典线性黏弹性理论的行为, 即出现了"第二平台". 经过二甲苯完全溶解的IPC试样的熔体流变行为研究结果表明, IPC分散相的团聚会提高熔体的模量. 对IPC 3种级分的动态流变行为的研究结果表明, 各级分间的动态储能模量(G')及黏度存在明显差异, 这主要是由于分子量和分子链链长的不同所致. EPR和HPP级分在低频区域的流变行为符合经典线性黏弹性理论, 为均相体系特征, 而EbP级分则出现"第二平台", 表现出非均相体系的特征. 对IPC中HPP/EPR共混物的流变行为的进一步研究发现, 当HPP/EPR质量比达到IPC中的比例时即可在低频区域产生"第二平台"; 当将EPR的比例增加至EPR和EbP组分之和时, EPR产生的平台要比IPC更为明显, 表明IPC中HPP与EPR存在的相分离足以使IPC产生"第二平台"现象.     

Synthesis of maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene and polypropylene,with controlled molecular structures

This article discusses a new chemical route to prepare maleic anhydride (MA) grafted polyethylene and polypropylene polymers with controlled molecular structure, that is, MA grafted content and polymer molecular weight and composition distributions. The chemistry involves a free radical graft reaction of maleic anhydride with poly(ethylene‐co‐p‐methylstyrene) and poly(propylene‐co‐p‐methylstyrene) copolymers. Under a suspension reaction condition, the grafting reaction takes place selectively on the p‐methylstyrene units in the copolymer, due to high reactivity of p‐methyl group and favorable mixing between p‐methylstyrene units and chemical reagents in the swollen amorphous phases. The resulting polymer shows no detectable molecular weight change during the reaction, and the MA grafted content increases with the increase of initiator and p‐methylstyrene concentrations. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 1337–1343, 2000     

Effect of annealing on microstructure and mechanical properties of polypropylene random copolymer

In this work, polypropylene random copolymer (PPR) was taken as an example to study the changes of mechanical properties related to its microstructure evolution. Firstly, the toughness and fracture morphology were analyzed by notched Izod impact test and scanning electron microscope. Annealing at relative lower temperatures (<100°C), mechanical properties are slightly enhanced, which should be pointed out that significant improvements have been observed when annealing at relative higher temperatures (>100°C). Secondly, the study was conducted from the conventional differential scanning calorimetry, wide angle X-ray diffraction, and small-angle X-ray scattering to analyses the changes in the crystalline and amorphous regions. Dynamic thermomechanical analysis was employed to explore the changes of molecular mobility in samples after annealing at different temperatures. Moreover, to find out the stress transfer between the crystalline regions and the amorphous regions, we did further analysis of the typical stress–strain curves and proposed the mechanism of microstructure evolution during annealing process. The results shown that amorphous rearranged and formed thinner lamellae when annealing at relative low temperature. While annealing at higher temperatures, the mobile and rigid amorphous regions rearranged into more perfect lamellae and the density of stress transmitters was increased significantly.     

Composition and molecular weight analysis of styrene-acrylic copolymers using thermal field-flow fractionation

Thermal field-flow fractionation coupled with online multiangle light scattering, differential refractive index and quasielastic light scattering (ThFFF-MALS/dRI/QELS) was used to simultaneously determine the molecular weight (MW) and composition of polystyrene-poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PS-PBA) and polystyrene-poly(methyl acrylate) (PS-PMA) copolymers. The online measurement of the normal diffusion coefficient (D) by QELS allowed calculation of the copolymer thermal diffusion coefficient (D(T)) of sample components as they eluted from the ThFFF channel. DT was found to be independent of MW for copolymers with similar compositions and dependent on composition for copolymers with similar MW in a non-selective solvent. By using a solvent that is non-selective to both blocks of the copolymer, it was possible to establish a universal calibration plot of DT versus mole fraction of one of the monomer chemistries comprising the copolymer. PS-PBA and PS-PMA linear diblock polymers were determined to vary in composition from 100/0 to 20/80 wt% PS/acrylate and ranged in MWs between 30 and 360 kDa. The analysis of a PS-PBA miktoarm star copolymer revealed a polydisperse material with a weight percent PBA of 50-75% and MW ranging from 100 to 900 kDa. The presented ThFFF-MALS/dRI/QELS method allowed rapid characterization of polymers with MW and chemical distributions in a single analysis.     

Influence of structure on the properties of polypropylene copolymers and terpolymers

Several Ziegler-Natta copolymers of iPP with ethylene or 1-butene, and terpolymers with both counits have been characterized, devoting special attention to the effect of composition and processing conditions on the crystal structure and final properties. DSC and X-ray diffraction were used to study the polymorphism of copolymers and terpolymers. Comonomer insertion interrupts the isotactic sequences, acting as a structural defect, and the formation of γ form is enhanced. Moreover, crystallinity decreases and crystal structure is modified. Comonomer type and concentration determine the extent of these modifications, resulting in important changes in macroscopic properties. In particular, the excellent optical properties of the analyzed terpolymers make them very attractive for applications such as transparent film or packaging.     

Characterization of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites for industrial applications

This study aims in the examination of a new class of materials named polymer layered silicate nanocomposites. In our case, composites are usually combinations of polypropylene matrix with solid mineral reinforcements named silicates (e,g. montmorillonite, a natural clay). In this study, two complementary techniques used to characterize nanocomposites. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) both in transmission and attenuated total reflectance (ATR) modes combined with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).     

Facile synthesis and applications of polypropylene/polydimethylsiloxane graft copolymer

It is of great significance to synthesize polyolefin/polysiloxane hybrid materials due to their unique combination of crystalline polyolefin segments and semiorganic polysiloxane segments. Herein, we report the syntheses of a novel polypropylene/polydimethylsiloxane (PP‐g‐PDMS) graft copolymer via the coupling reactions between maleic anhydride‐grafted PP and monoaminopropyl‐terminated PDMS. The chemical structures of PP‐g‐PDMS have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The correlation between reaction conditions and the structural parameters of PP‐g‐PDMS has been established. Consequently, the potential applications of resultant PP‐g‐PDMS were investigated, and the results showed that PP‐g‐PDMS can serve as an efficient compatibilizer in heterogeneous PP/PDMS blend system and also as an ideal processing aid for high‐viscosity PP.     

抗冲共聚聚丙烯的结晶与相形态

用POM、DSC、WAXD、DMA、AFM对两种乙烯含量、相对分子量及其分布、橡胶相含量几乎完全相同的、韧性差异很大的抗冲共聚聚丙烯(IPC)的结晶、相形态进行了研究.实验结果表明,两者的结晶形态、结晶行为相似.相比IPC-B,IPC-A中分散相和基体的相容性较好.IPC基体、分散相的组成分析发现,分散相的外层为软的乙丙无规共聚物(EPR),内部为硬的聚乙烯(PE)晶区,构成一种复杂的包藏结构.IPC的增韧效果主要来自于相形态和分散状况的贡献.提出了IPC的相结构模型,以描述IPC多相体系的相结构及两种IPC中E-b-P的作用与差异.