Epitaxial growth of isotactic polypropylene on oriented polyethylene from solution

Oriented polyethylene (PE) films with surfaces bounded by the (100) plane were prepared. On the film surfaces, isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was crystallized epitaxially from solution as quadrits with their sides parallel and perpendicular to the polyethylene chain axis. In the through wide-angle x-ray diffraction pattern (taken with incident x-rays normal to the polyethylene film surface), the 111 iPP reflections was observed on the meridian (Parallel to the polyethylene chain axis). In the edge patterns (taken with x-rays incident on the edge of the polyethylene film), 040 and 060 reflections were observed on the equator. From the diffraction patterns, the following lattice coincidence was observed between polyethylene and isotactic polypropylene: (010)iPP//(100) PE, [101]iPP//[001] PE. The Small-angle x-ray scattering patterns showed that edge-on isotactic polypropylene lamellae 9 nm thick were arranged with their long axes inclined at an angle of 40° from the polyethylene axis. Molecular chains were oriented within the lamellae normal to the surfaces.     

Polyethylene–isotactic polypropylene epitaxy: Analysis of the diffraction patterns of oriented biphasic blends

Diffraction patterns of oriented blends of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and polyethylene (PE) published recently by several authors are analyzed on the basis of a unique epitaxial relationship between the iPP and PE crystal lattices. The contact planes are (100)_PE and (010)_iPP, and the PE chains lie at 50° to the iPP chain axis, parallel to the helical path of the iPP helices, which is formed by rows of side-group methyls.     

Crystal morphology of the γ (triclinic) phase of isotactic polypropylene and its relation to the α phase

γ-phase crystals of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) obtained from low-molecular-weight extracts of pyrolyzed polymers are examined by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. γ-phase crystals differ from α-phase crystals in three important respects: (i) they are elongated along the b^* rather than the a^* axis, (ii) the chain axis is inclined at 50° to the lamellar surface (indexed as 101) rather than normal to it, and (iii) they show screw dislocations, while α crystals do not. γ crystals are nucleated on the lateral (010) faces of a α crystals; the b_α and b axes are parallel. Virtually no nucleation of the α phase takes place on the γ phase, which is therefore not involved in the repetitive lamellar branching leading to iPP quadrites. Crystallization of the γ phase appears to be favored by or linked to the absence of chain folds and may be involved in the macroscopic curvature of iPP branches.     

Morphology of polypropylene crystals. II. Twinning of lamellar crystals

Twinned crystals were obtained from fractionated isotactic polypropylene of M?_w = 600,000 by isothermal crystallization at 130°C. for 20 hr. from dilute α-chloronaphthalene solution (0.005 wt.-%). Electron microscopic observations confirm that the molecular chains of polypropylene lamellar crystals extend along the [100] direction while the folding itself occurs within the (010) planes in the monoclinic crystal form. On this basis it is shown that polypropylene forms twinned crystals in which the composition plane is the (1k0) planes. It can be deduced that the formation of twin nucleus occurs before twinning, and then growth occurs from the neighboring region of the crystal boundary by chain folding along the [100] direction.     

Long chain branching on linear polypropylene by solid state reactions

A method was developed for the long chain branching (LCB) of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) via modification in the solid state. PP long chains have been linked as branches to the original linear iPP chains using solid state reactions in the presence of a free radical initiator and a multifunctional monomer (co-agent). The modified samples of branched iPP were characterised by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and rheological measurements. Several methods were applied in order to estimate indirectly the extent of branching. A ranking was made of the co-agents according to their ability in inducing LCB as opposed to cross-linking and degradation of iPP. The furfuryl sulphide (FS) showed the highest efficiency for the branching reaction, while the divinylbenzene (DVB) is not suitable for branching.     

Nanostructure and crystallization phenomena in multilayered films of alternating iPP and PA6 semicrystalline polymers

The present work is concerned with the study of the crystalline morphology and the nanostructure of a multilayered system of two alternating immiscible semicrystalline polymers: isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and polyamide 6 (PA6). Films with a volume ratio of 70/30 were prepared by means of layer multiplying coextrusion. Contrary to previous experiments, performed with semicrystalline/amorphous and amorphous/amorphous nanolayered systems, the studied iPP/PA6 film does not exhibit a well defined maximum in the USAXS patterns. This result accounts for an irregular layered structure, as further confirmed by means of TEM images. Nevertheless, such a layered assembly still influences the crystallization behaviour of both constituent polymers. On the one hand, the crystallization of PA6 within the multilayered material is substantially hindered as evidenced by its weak scattering intensity. Real time studies as a function of temperature undoubtedly detect the presence of a WAXS peak and a SAXS maximum associated to PA6 above the melting temperature of iPP. Room temperature AFM studies also confirm the occurrence of crystalline structures within the PA6 layers. On the other hand, SAXS and WAXS measurements at room temperature reveal the occurrence of an oriented lamellar morphology within the iPP layers bearing uniaxial symmetry around an axis perpendicular to the layers surface. Results show that the crystalline molecular chains are placed mainly parallel to the layer surfaces forming edge-on lamellae. Moreover, X-ray scattering results are in agreement with the occurrence of two populations of lamellae, both edge-on and perpendicular to each other, in agreement with the crosshatched morphology observed by AFM.     

Gamma polymorph and branching formation as inductors of resistance to electron beam irradiation in metallocene isotactic polypropylene

The influence of a wide dose range of electron beam (EB) irradiation is analyzed on films obtained from metallocene isotactic polypropylene (iPP) under two different thermal processing conditions. A greater irradiation resistance is observed in those films with content in γ crystallites higher than in α monoclinic entities in terms of melting temperature variation with irradiation. This change is on the order of 0.5 °C per 100 kGy in slowly crystallized films while a value of 1.5 °C per 100 kGy is found in quenched specimens. On the other hand, dual studies on films and pellets have proved that branching takes place in this metallocene iPP. The scission processes that occur during irradiation cannot account by themselves for the observed changes in molecular weight distribution as demonstrated by simulation. The observed changes in the rheological behaviour of the irradiated iPP corroborate that increasing degrees of branching are generated by the irradiation process.     

Mechanical enhancement of melt-stretched β-nucleated isotactic polypropylene: The role of lamellar branching of β-crystal

Melt-stretched isotactic polypropylene (iPP) filled with different weight fractions (0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 wt %) of β-nucleating agent (β-NA) was extruded via a single screw extruder with a slit die and immediately melt-stretched at the die exit. The microstructure and mechanical properties (i.e., monotonic tensile, step-cycle and stress relaxation behavior) of these samples were analyzed. Unexpectedly, the lamellar branching of β-crystal, which is similar to lamellar branching of α-crystal, is observed in melt-stretched β-nucleated iPP. More interestingly, it is found that, compared with other samples, iPP containing 0.2 wt % of β-NA has the best mechanical properties. Through thorough analysis of various structural characterizations, the improved tensile strength obtained from step-cycle tests and viscous force obtained from stress relaxation measurements for iPP with 0.2 wt% of β-NA is ascribed to lamellar branching of β-crystal. The study is an example of preparing high performance polymers via practical polymer processing methods.     

Probing into the epitaxial crystallization of β form isotactic polypropylene: From experimental observations to molecular mechanics computation

Compared with the most stable crystalline form of isotactic polypropylene (α‐iPP), β‐iPP shows superior impact strength and high temperature performance, though the mechanism of how the frustrated structure of β‐iPP is formed still remains unclear. In present work, the single crystal structure of a traditional β‐iPP nucleating agent, N,N′‐dicyclohexylterephthalamide (DCHT), was obtained for the first time and correlated with the epitaxial crystallization of β‐iPP on the surface of DCHT crystal. The combination of synchrotron radiation X‐ray microdiffraction and molecular chain packing model confirmed that a two dimensional match of chain‐axis and inter‐chain direction coexists between β‐iPP (110) plane and DCHT (001) plane. It was further found that an epitaxial model is helpful to understand the formation of the frustrated structure of 3₁ helices packing in β‐iPP. The molecular mechanics computation showed that as the (001) plane of DCHT is fixed, the packing mode of β‐iPP (110) plane on the substrate surface is more stable than that of α‐iPP (010) plane. This work clarifies the epitaxial crystallization mechanism of β‐iPP on DCHT by employing both experimental and computational evidences. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 418–424     

Comparison between Polymorphic Behaviors of Ziegler-Natta and Metallocene-Made Isotactic Polypropylene: The Role of the Chain Microstructure

An analysis of the polymorphic behavior of samples of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) prepared with heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta catalysts is presented. A comparison with the crystallization properties of iPP samples prepared with a single center homogeneous metallocene catalyst is also shown. Samples of Ziegler-Natta iPP samples, prepared with MgCl₂-supported catalysts, have been fractionated by extraction with boiling solvents. The irregular fraction, insoluble in diethyl ether and soluble in hexane, crystallizes from the melt almost totally in the γ form. The more stereoregular fractions crystallize instead basically in the α form. The relative amount of γ form crystallized from the melt is much lower that that observed in samples of metallocene-made iPP containing comparable amount of defects. While in the metallocene-made iPP the distribution of defects along the chains is random, in Ziegler-Natta iPP samples the majority of defects are segregated in a small fraction of poorly crystallizable macromolecules or in more irregular portions of the chain, so that much longer fully isotactic sequences can be produced, leading to the crystallization of the α form. This analysis allows concluding that some fractions of Ziegler-Natta iPP are characterized by chains with a stereo-block microstructure, consisting in regular isotactic sequences linked to more irregular sequences.     

A bimodal structure of solution-grown isotactic polypropylene with orthogonally crossed lamellae

Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was crystallized from solution on a uniaxially-oriented iPP film. Small-angle x-ray scattering patterns obtained from the sample showed two perpendicularly crossed lameliae 9.3 nm thick that overgrew flat-on and edge-on on the substrate. In the through wide-angel x-ray diffraction pattern (taken with incident x-rays normal to the iPP film surface), strong hkO reflections were arranged in an hkO net pattern indicating that the a-axis of the monoclinic α unit cell was oriented parallel to the chain direction of the substrate. From this, it was concluded that the flat-on lamellae grew with the a-axis parallel to the chain axis of the substrate and with the b-axis parallel to its surface. In the edge wide-angle x-ray diffraction pattern (X-rays incident on the edge of the film), arced, strong 110 and 220 reflections from overgrown crystals were observed on the equator of the fiber pattern of the substrate. This indicated that the edge-on lamellae epitaxially grew with the c-axis aligned parallel to the chain axis of the substrate. The homoepitaxy explains the correlated growth mode between the orthogonally crossed lamellae: they grew epitaxially, the a-axis of one lamella coinciding with the c-axis of the other and the {010} planes in contact. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

聚丙烯／氯化聚乙烯共混物的形态结构

 用透射电子显微镜方法研究了聚丙烯（ｉＰＰ）和氯化聚乙烯（ＣＰＥ）共混物溶液浇铸膜的形态结构．共混物中ＣＰＥ含量≤７０％时不妨碍ｉＰＰ球晶两种结构（交叉结构和条状结构）区域的生成．在ＣＰＥ含量≥８０％时，分散相ｉＰＰ形成近乎直角（８０°）交叉的稀疏的片晶网络．在共混物的全组成范围内，ＣＰＥ结晶在ｉＰＰ片晶上附生生长，二者结晶Ｃ轴的交角为５０°     

Morphology of polypropylene crystals. I. Dilute solution-grown lamellar crystals

The dependence of crystalline morphology of isotactic polypropylene crystallized from dilute solutions on its molecular weight and growing conditions and the mechanism of crystal growth were studied by electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Lathshaped lamellar crystals 150–300 A. in thickness are obtained from fractionated polypropylene powders of M _w (average molecular weight) = 600,000 and 240,000, but not from the samples of M _w = 82,000 and 44,000, by means of isothermal crystallization at 130°C. for 20 hr. in dilute α-chloronaphthalene solution (0.005 wt.-%). Precipitation of the fractionated polypropylene sample of M _w = 82,000 from a dilute solution of carbitol gives typical dendritic crystals under the same isothermal crystallizing conditions as mentioned above. The mode of chain folding in these crystals based on the orientation and the crystal structure of the lamellar crystals agrees with that proposed by Sauer, Morrow, and Richardson. From the morphological observations, the mechanism of growth pertinent to polypropylene lamellar crystals is presumed to be as follows: fibrils at first aggregate, then the molecular chains are folded to form small lamellae, and then these small lamellae accumulate compactly to grow to large, lath-shaped, lamellar crystals.     

Stability and phase transformations of the mesomorphic form of isotactic polypropylene in stereodefective polypropylene

A study of the thermodynamic stability and the related polymorphic transformations induced by thermal treatments of the mesomorphic form that crystallizes in stereodefective metallocene isotactic polypropylene (iPP) is presented. We show that the mesomorphic form of the more isotactic samples is stable at room temperature, whereas the mesomorphic form crystallizing in the more stereoirregular sample is unstable and crystallizes at room temperature in the crystalline α form. In any case, the mesomorphic form transforms during heating or by annealing at temperatures higher than 60–80 °C always in the α form, regardless of the stereoregularity, even in the case of stereoirregular samples generally crystallizing from the melt in the γ form. These data confirm the proposed model of structure of the mesomorphic form as small aggregates of chains in three-fold helical conformation packed with lateral correlations similar to the α form of iPP.     

The influence of thermoelastomers on the crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene under shear

The crystallization behaviors of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and its blends with thermoelastomers have been investigated with in situ X‐ray scattering and optic microscopy. At quiescent condition, the crystallization kinetics of iPP is not affected by the presence of elastomers; while determined by the viscosity, the differences are observed on sheared samples. With a fixed shear strain, the crystallization rate increases with increasing the shear rate. The fraction of oriented lamellar crystals in blends is higher than that in pure iPP sample, while the percentage of β phase is reduced by the presence of the elastomers. On the basis of experimental results, no direct correlation among the fraction of oriented lamellae, the percentage of β phase, and growth rate can be deduced. The evolution of the fraction of oriented lamellae supports that shear field promotes nucleation rather than growth process. Shear flow induces the formation of nuclei not only with preferring orientation but also with random orientation. The total density of nuclei, which determines the crystallization kinetics, does not control the ratio between nuclei with and without preferring orientation, which determines the fraction of oriented lamellae. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 1188–1198, 2006     

Molecular deformation mechanisms of isotactic polypropylene in α‐ and β‐crystal forms by FTIR spectroscopy

The orientation behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) in α‐ and β‐crystal form was investigated by rheo‐optical Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. This method enabled quantification of the degree of orientation as a feature of structural changes during uniaxial elongation in not only the crystalline phase but also the amorphous one. Molecular orientation mechanisms can be successfully derived from experimental results. Generally, three mechanisms were detected for iPP: (1) interlamellar separation in the amorphous phase, (2) interlamellar slip and lamellar twisting at small elongations, and (3) intralamellar slip at high elongations. The third mechanism was favored by α‐PP, whereas β‐PP favored the second mechanism, which, in fact, was responsible for the different mechanical properties of both materials at the macroscopic level. On the other hand, crystallization conditions may have significantly affected the amorphous orientation. Nevertheless, for both iPP types the chains in the amorphous phase always oriented less than did those in the crystalline phase. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 4478–4488, 2004     

Nucleation effect of cyclodextrin inclusion compounds on the crystallization of polypropylene

The β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) and γ‐cyclodextrin (γ‐CD) inclusion compounds (ICs) with two different molecular weight isotactic polypropylene (iPP) were prepared. The ICs with high molecular weight iPP as guest molecule had lower inclusion rate. The crystallization behavior of iPP blended with the CDs and ICs was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and light scattering. The iPP blended with the ICs was found to exhibit higher crystallization temperature (T_C), smaller spherulites, and faster crystallization rate than those of neat iPP. These results indicate that the ICs play a role of nucleating agent on the crystallization of iPP and induce the accelerated crystallization. Both β‐CD‐iPP ICs and γ‐CD‐iPP ICs with longer iPP molecular chains had better nucleation effect than the ICs with shorter iPP molecular chains. This suggested that the nucleation effect of these ICs was affected by the inclusion rate of ICs. The lower inclusion rate could result in better nucleation effect, due to the interaction of extended iPP molecules inside the CD cavity and iPP molecules in the matrix. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 130–137, 2009     

Low and high-yield isotactic polypropylene

The crystallization and melting behaviour of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) samples synthetized with different catalyst systems (low and high-yield) have been studied by differential scanning calorimetry and optical microscopy. The isothermal crystallization rates from the melt have been found to depend on the catalyst system employed and on the isotacticity index of the sample. Moreover, for low-yield iPP, Avrami analysis of the overall kinetics has provided evidence of the presence of secondary crystallization phenomena. The values of the equilibrium melting point, energy of nucleation and surface energy of folding of iPP lamellar crystals have been calculated according to the ‘Kinetic theories’ of polymer crystallization. The observed variation of such thermodynamic parameters for the various iPP samples has been accounted for by the amount and type of configurational irregularities present along the chains and by the differences in the molecular weight distribution.     

Molecular weight dependency of crystallization and melting behavior of β‐nucleated isotactic polypropylene

Compounds of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and β‐nucleating agent were used to investigate the relationship between the development of β phase and molecular weight in iPP under quiescent crystallization conditions by using wide angle X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. In all cases, the dependency of the formation of β phase in iPP on molecular weight of iPP at a defined crystallization temperature range was found. The iPP with high molecular weight possessed a wide range of crystallization temperature in inducing rich β phase. However, poor or even no β phase was obtained for the samples with low molecular weight in the same range. In addition, an upper critical crystallization temperature of producing dominant β phase was found at 125 °C. Beyond this temperature, a phenomenon of prevailing α phase became obvious. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 1301–1308     

Temperature dependence of molecular conformation in uniaxially deformed isotactic polypropylene investigated by combination of polarized FTIR spectroscopy and 2D correlation analysis

Evolution of molecular conformation in uniaxially deformed isotactic polypropylene (iPP) as a function of temperature is investigated by time‐resolved polarized Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. It is observed that oriented crystals (microfibrils) induced by deformation possess better thermal stability compared with isotropic spherulites. 2D correlation analysis reveals that the relaxation process of ordered helices in deformed iPP could be divided into two regions referring to the melting of different crystalline structures. No obvious sequential change of ordering conformations observed in low temperature region is attributed to melting of defective or destructed crystals. However, notable sequential changes of helices occur in the high temperature region; interestingly, long helices are more thermally stable than short helices. The central region of microfibrils is suggested to consist of a large amount of long helical bundles, and the short ordering segments are primarily located in the outer lateral surfaces. A physical picture of the conformational distribution in deformation‐induced microfibrils is thus gained. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 673–684