The effect of talc on the crystallization of isotactic polypropylene

Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) has been crystallized in the presence of talc under the quiescent state and shear flow of injection molding. The resulting morphology has been investigated by means of polarizing microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and wide angle X‐ray diffraction. In the quiescent state, the iPP lamellae grew from the surface of talc and the transcrystalline region was formed at the interface between iPP melt and the talc. The nucleation of iPP was very frequent on the cleavage plane of talc. The X‐ray diffraction pattern of the transcrystal showed a*‐axis orientation to the crystal growing direction. In injection‐molded samples of the talc‐filled iPP, the morphology of lamella growing from talc appeared as same as that of the transcrystal. However, the crystalline orientation of injection‐molded talc‐filled iPP, in which the b axis was oriented to the thickness direction and the a* and the c axis was oriented to the flow direction, was quite different from that of the transcrystal. This b‐axis orientation results from the orientation of the plate plane of talc, which induces the nucleation and the crystallization under shear flow. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 79: 1693–1703, 2001     

Effects of talc orientation and non-isothermal crystallization rate on crystal orientation of polypropylene in injection-molded polypropylene/ethylene-propylene rubber/talc blends

The effects of talc orientation and non-isothermal crystallization rate on the crystal orientation of polypropylene in the injection-molded PP/EPR/Talc blends were studied by using AFM, DSC, SEM and XRD. Polypropylene was transcrystallized on the talc surface and the polypropylene crystal was oriented perpendicular to the talc surface. Therefore, the crystal orientation was affected by the talc orientation. At the surface of injection-molded specimens, the crystal orientation increased with decreasing the molecular weight of EPRs and increasing the talc content. Because talc particles were nearly oriented parallel to the flow direction in the skin layer of the specimens, the crystal orientation was amplified by the increased crystallization rate. The non-isothermal crystallization behavior of PP/EPR/Talc blends was investigated in terms of the molecular weight of EPRs and the talc content. Non-isothermal crystallization rate increased with decreasing the molecular weight of EPRs due to the plasticizing effect of EPRs and increasing the content of talc which acts as nucleating agent.     

Intercalated structure of polypropylene/in situ polymerization-modified talc composites via melt compounding

Talc was modified with methyl methacrylate (MMA) or butyl acrylate (BA) via in situ polymerization. The talc/isotactic polypropylene (PP) composites with nano-sized intercalated structure were formed by melt compounding of PP with the modified talc. The results showed that the talc layers were partially delaminated, aligned along the flow direction, and uniformly dispersed in the PP matrix. The thickness of the PMMA-modified talc layers in the PP matrix was in the range 80-240 nm, while the PBA-modified talc was even thinner. PMMA or PBA macromolecules attached on the surface of talc layers hindered the crystallization of the PP component. Moreover, the aligned pristine talc layers promoted the orientation of the PP crystals. However, the extent of PP crystal orientation decreased in the presence of PMMA or PBA-modified talc.     

Morphological analysis of the tiger stripe on injection molding of polypropylene/ethylene‐propylene rubber/talc blends dependent on based polypropylene design

Tiger stripe of injection molding of polypropylene (PP)/elastomer/talc blends was analyzed in terms of the morphology of the dispersed phase comprising elastomer components by using gloss and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, the contribution of the polymer design of PP, i.e., industrial block‐type grade consisting of a homo‐PP portion as the matrix and an ethylene propylene random copolymer portion as the domain is discussed. Local gloss measurement of the injected specimen along with the flow direction of the molten blends indicates a periodic fluctuation repeating higher and lower degrees of gloss, corresponding to the period of glossy and cloudy portions of the tiger stripe, respectively. These local gloss degrees are highly dependent on the morphologies of the dispersed phases near the surface layer of the injected specimen. The gloss increases when the ratio long axis (L) and diameter (D), L/D, of the dispersed phase are increased, and the gloss decreases when the L/D is decreased. Increasing the intrinsic viscosity of the ethylene‐propylene rubber portion of the PP is an effective design factor for restricting the deformation against shear strain during injection process by giving the dispersed phases high elasticity. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 192–199, 2007     

Fabrication of polypropylene blends with excellent low‐temperature toughness and balanced toughness‐rigidity by a combination of EPR and SEEPS

To overcome serious rigidity depression of rubber‐toughened plastics and fabricate a rigidity‐toughness balanced thermoplastic, a combination of styrene‐[ethylene‐(ethylene‐propylene)]‐styrene block copolymer (SEEPS) and ethylene‐propylene rubber (EPR) was used to toughen polypropylene. The dynamic mechanical properties, crystallization and melting behavior, and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/EPR/SEEPS blends were studied in detail. The results show that the combination of SEEPS and EPR can achieve the tremendous improvement of low‐temperature toughness without significant strength and rigidity loss. Dynamic mechanical properties and phase morphology results demonstrate that there is a good interfacial strength and increased loss of compound rubber phase comprised of EPR component and EP domain of SEEPS. Compared with PP/EPR binary blends, although neither glass transition temperature (T_g) of the rubber phase nor T_g of PP matrix in PP/EPR/SEEPS blends decreases, the brittle‐tough transition temperature (T_bd) of PP/EPR/SEEPS blends decreases, indicating that the increased interfacial interaction between PP matrix and compound rubber phase is also an effective approach to decrease T_bd of the blends so as to improve low‐temperature toughness. The balance between rigidity and toughness of PP/EPR/SEEPS blends is ascribed to the synergistic effect of EPR and SEEPS on toughening PP. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45714.     

Study of dynamically cured PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc/epoxy composites

In the present study, an epoxy resin was dynamically cured in a polypropylene (PP)/maleic anhydride–grafted PP (MAH‐g‐PP)/talc matrix to prepare dynamically cured PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc/epoxy composites. An increase in the torque at equilibrium showed that epoxy resin in the PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc composites had been cured by 2‐ethylene‐4‐methane‐imidazole. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that MAH‐g‐PP and an epoxy resin had effectively increased the interaction adhesion between PP and the talc in the PP/talc composites. Dynamic curing of the epoxy resin further increased the interaction adhesion. The dynamically cured PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc/epoxy composites had higher crystallization peaks than did the PP/talc composites. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the addition of MAH‐g‐PP and the epoxy resin into the PP/talc composites caused an obvious improvement in the thermal stability. The dynamically cured PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc/epoxy composites had the best thermal stability of all the PP/talc composites. The PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc/epoxy composites had better mechanical properties than did the PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc composites, and the dynamically cured PP/MAH‐g‐PP/talc/epoxy composites had the best mechanical properties of all the PP/talc composites, which can be attributed to the better interaction adhesion between the PP and the talc. The suitable content of epoxy resin in the composites was about 5 wt %. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006     

Mechanical properties,morphology, and crystallization behavior of polypropylene/elastomer/talc composites

In this study, polypropylene/ethylene–octene copolymer (PP/POE) blends, PP/talc, and PP/POE/micro‐talc (MT) composites were fabricated using a twin screw. To estimate the performances of the PP/POE blends, PP/talc, and PP/POE/MT composites, mechanical properties, heat deflection temperature (HDT), thermomechanical analysis, and isothermal crystallization characterization were conducted. Incorporating talc particles increased the tensile strength, flexural properties, and HDT of the PP matrix, but reduced the elongation at break and notched impact strength. The inclusion of POE elastomers in the PP matrix yielded the opposite effect on PP/talc composites. PP/POE/MT composites provide a compromise that improves both the flexural properties and notched impact strength. Moreover, the inclusion of talc particles in PP/POE blends induced heterogeneous nucleation and considerably reduced the crystallization time. Consequently, the time required for processing was also greatly reduced. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:69–77, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Surface‐modified talc particles by acetoxy groups grafting: Effects on mechanical properties of polypropylene/talc composites

This article deals with the effects of surface‐modified talc particles on mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/talc composites. These materials were prepared by injection molding of PP blended with different concentrations of nontreated and treated talc, under the same processing conditions. Differential thermal calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy were used to assess thermal properties and morphology of the final composites. The reinforcing effect of talc, either treated or nontreated surface, on PP is analyzed through the tensile properties as a function of the mineral content (0–10 wt%). Morphological structure of composites revealed that the talc treatment improved the particle dispersion and distribution within the PP matrix and enhanced the interfacial PP‐talc adhesion. The mechanical properties of these composites, especially the Young modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break, were found to be improved respect to PP‐untreated talc ones. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Shrinkage behavior and mechanical performances of injection molded polypropylene/talc composites

In this research, the influences of adding talc mineral particles of 10 μm particle size on the shrinkage and the mechanical properties of injection molded polypropylene (PP)/talc composites were investigated. PP has a crystalline molecular structure and hence it possesses nonisotropic shrinkage along and across the flow directions. Addition of the talc mineral filler to PP induced an isotropic shrinkage in the molded part because of the nonisotropic shape of talc particles. The results of experiments indicated that the maximum flexural strength, maximum impact strength, and isotropic shrinkage were achieved by adding 10, 20, and 30 by weight percent of talc respectively. By incorporating of 10 wt% of talc particles into the PP matrix, the tensile strength was hardly affected but the occurrence of cold drawing phenomena in the tensile test was hindered considerably. The flake‐shape structure of talc filler played an important role in determining the molded part shrinkage and mechanical properties. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:2124–2128, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

The influence of talc as a nucleation agent on the nonisothermal crystallization and morphology of isotactic polypropylene: The application of the Lauritzen–Hoffmann,Avrami, and Ozawa theories

A new method is proposed, which can be used to analyze the influence of different additives and fillers on the nonisothermal crystallization of polymers. The composites of talc in isotactic polypropylene (i‐PP) were prepared using a corotating twin‐screw extruder. The compounds were subsequently dried and injection molded. PP morphology and talc dispersion were visualized using optical microscopy and computed tomography. Wide‐angle X‐ray scattering and small‐angle X‐ray scattering measurements provided an insight into the crystal structure of PP. The data obtained from nonisothermal DSC measurements were fitted to the Avrami model for the nonisothermal case. The calculated Avrami's exponent (n), which takes into account the influence of talc on the nucleation and growth of the PP crystals, was used in the combination of Lauritzen–Hoffman and Ozawa models to calculate the nucleation parameter (K_g). A good agreement was found between the model predictions and literature values. The examination shows that the developed model extension gives an expected trend in the case of i‐PP filled with talcs from the same origin but with different particle sizes. Furthermore, it is shown that delaminated talc with a higher specific surface is more efficient in nucleation of i‐PP. Thus, the introduced model extension could be a useful tool for comparing of nucleation ability of different additives in the crystallization of polymers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

The influence of filler treatment on the properties of TPU/PP blends: I. Thermal properties and stability

Commercially available organosilane (3‐glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS)) coupling agent was used to treat talc in order to improve the affinity relative between the filler and the polymer in composites as well as filler and polymer in the thermoplastic polyurethane/polypropylene (TPU/PP) blends (talc content was 5 wt%). The talc particles were first modified with GPTMS and then introduced into TPU, PP as well as TPU/PP blends with different weight ratios of polymers using blending method and subsequently injection molded in a hydraulic press. The aim was to report the effect of silane coupling agent on the thermal and morphological properties of talc filled composites and blends. The results showed that the thermal properties of the TPU, PP composites and TPU/PP blends were improved with the addition of silane treated talc (higher melting (T_m), crystallization (T_c) temperatures and degree of crystallinity (χ_c)). The glass transition temperature (T_g) obtained by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) of the TPU soft segments in TPU/PP blends increased with the addition of untreated and silane treated talc due to lower mobility of the soft segments in TPU and better miscibility of TPU and PP. TPU/PP blends with the silane treated talc show better thermal stability than the TPU/PP blends with untreated talc. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1920–1930, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Anisotropic thermal expansion in polypropylene/poly(ethylene-co-octene) binary blends: influence of arrays of elastomer domains

In injection molded specimens consisting of isotactic polypropylene (iPP)/poly(ethylene-co-octene) (EOR) blends with different viscosity ratio of η(EOR)/η(iPP), the coefficient of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) was investigated by thermal mechanical analysis (TMA). It was found that the blend with a smaller viscosity ratio showed the larger anisotropy of CLTE depending upon the directions. TEM observations revealed that the shape of rubber domains varied from slabs, cylinders to ellipsoids in shape, by increasing η(EOR)/η(iPP). The crystal orientation analysis by WAXD have revealed that the blend with ‘slab’ EOR domains showed the orientation of the c-axis of iPP crystals was preferably oriented to FD (flow direction) and TD (transverse to FD), and that the b-axis was exclusively oriented to ND (thickness direction). The CLTE of each FD and TD was in good agreement with the rules-of-mixing for CLTE by introducing the effect of the arrays of the elastomer domains and the PP crystal orientation. On the other hand, the CLTE in ND showed massive discrepancy between the calculation and observation. It was found that the incorporation of the retraction effect could explain the discrepancy to some extent.     

Compatibilized blends of PVC/PA12 and PVC/PP containing poly(lauryl lactam‐block‐caprolactone)

Specially designed block copolymers have played a role as compatibilizing agents in the system of immiscible polymer blends. We applied lauryl lactam (LA)–caprolactone (CL) block copolymer [P(LA‐b‐CL)] as a compatibilizing agent for immiscible poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blends with various polymers. These blends possess high thermal performance and toughness. We investigated the effect of P(LA‐b‐CL) as a compatibilizing agent for immiscible PVC blends with poly(ω‐lauryl lactam) [polyamide 12 (PA12)]. We also described the invention of a new compatibilizing agent system involving P(LA‐b‐CL) for PVC/polypropylene (PP) blends. The mechanical and thermal properties of (1) PVC/PA12 blend compatibilized with P(LA‐b‐CL) and (2) PVC/PP blend compatibilized with P(LA‐b‐CL)/PA12/maleic anhydride–modified PP were both enhanced. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1983‐1992, 2004     

Partial replacement of EPR by GTR in highly flowable PP/EPR blends: Effects on morphology and mechanical properties

This research analyzes the effect of ground tire rubber (GTR) and a novel metallocene‐based ethylene–propylene copolymer (EPR), with high propylene content, on the morphology and mechanical behavior of ternary polymer blends based on a highly flowable polypropylene homopolymer (PP). The PP/EPR blends morphology, with very small domains of EPR dispersed in the PP matrix, indicates a good compatibility among these materials, which leads to a significant improvement on elongation at break and impact strength. The incorporation of EPR on the rubber phase of thermoplastic elastomeric blends (TPE) based on GTR and PP (TPE^GTR) has a positive effect on their mechanical performance, attributed to the toughness enhancement of the PP matrix and to the establishment of shell‐core morphology between the rubber phases. The mechanical properties of the ternary blends reveal that TPE^GTR blends allow the upcycling of this GTR material by injection molding technologies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42011.     

Tensile elongation of high‐fluid polypropylene/ethylene–propylene rubber blends: Dependence on molecular weight of the components and propylene content of the rubber

We studied tensile behavior of low‐molecular‐weight (MW) polypropylene (PP)/ethylene–propylene rubber (EPR; 70/30) blends from the viewpoint of the MWs of PP and EPR and the compatibility between PP and EPR. The value of the melt flow rate of PP varied from 30 to 700 g/10 min at 230°C. We studied the compatibility between PP and EPR by varying the propylene content in EPR (27 and 68 wt %). At the initial elongation stage, crazes were observed in all blends. When blends included EPR with 27 wt % propylene, the elongation at break of the low‐MW PP improved little. The blends with EPR and 68 wt % propylene content were elongated further beyond their yielding points. The elongation to rupture was increased with increasing MW of EPR. Molecular orientation of the low‐MW PP was manifested by IR dichroism measurements and X‐ray diffraction patterns. The blends of low‐MW PP and EPR could be elongated by the partial dissolution of EPR of high‐MW in the PP amorphous phase. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 46–56, 2002     

Influence of talc genesis and particle surface on the crystallization kinetics of polypropylene/talc composites

Talc is a laminar silicate, considered as an excellent nucleating agent for polypropylene (PP) crystallization. However, properties of PP/talc composites depend on the morphology, size, and surface of mineral particles. In this sense, talc from several ores, having different morphology, imparts specific characteristics on these materials. Also, taking into account that PP‐talc adhesion is not necessarily good due to the apolar character of PP, talc surface has been modified in order to increase this parameter. In this work, the effects of talc genesis, geomorphologic aspects, and particle surface characteristics on crystallization of PP/talc composites are analyzed. Isothermal crystallization of PP/talc composites was studied by using differential scanning calorimetry, based on Avrami model. The final crystalline morphology of talc‐filled PP was analyzed by means optical microscopy. The results show that the blocky talc morphology favors even more the crystallization compared to the platy one, at the same particle size. Taking into account the surface treatment studied in this work, the talc surface is made hydrophobic and the particle delamination is favored. As a consequence, so‐modified talc is very effective in increasing the crystallization temperature of PP and the nuclei number that grow during the crystallization with respect to the untreated talc. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

An investigation on the mechanical and dynamic rheological properties of single and hybrid filler/polypropylene composites based on talc and calcium carbonate

Some results of experiments on the mechanical and rheological properties of mineral filled polypropylene were presented. Single filler and hybrid filler composites of talc and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) were prepared in a co‐rotating twin‐screw extruder. The effect of filler type, filler content, and coupling agent on the mechanical and rheological properties of the polypropylene were studied. The coupling agent was maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (PP‐g‐MA). It was found that the mechanical properties are affected by filler type, filler concentration, and the interaction between filler and matrix. The tensile strength of the composite is more affected by the talc while the impact strength is influenced mostly by CaCO₃ content. The elongation at break of PP/CaCO₃ composites was higher than that of PP/talc composites. The incorporation of coupling agent into PP/mineral filler composites increased the mechanical properties. Rheological properties indicated that the complex viscosity and storage modulus of talc filled samples were higher than those of calcium carbonate filled samples while the tan δ was lower. The rheological properties of hybrid‐filler filled sample were more affected by the talc than calcium carbonate. The PP‐g‐MA increased the complex viscosity and storage modulus of both single and hybrid composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Correlations between processing parameters,morphology, and properties of blown films of LLDPE/LDPE blends,part 2: Crystalline and amorphous biaxial orientation by WAXD pole figures

The biaxial molecular orientation of blown films made of blends of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) with low density polyethylene (LDPE) was characterized by two different methods: complete pole figures obtained by wide angle X‐rays diffraction (WAXD) and polarized infrared spectroscopy (IR) using the Krishnaswamy approach. The molecular orientation of the blends amorphous phase was also evaluated by polarized IR. The crystallinity of the blown films was determined by WAXD. A good correlation between the X‐ray pole figures and the polarized IR results was obtained. At all blends compositions, it was shown that the a‐axis of the polyethylene orthorhombic cell was preferentially oriented along the machine direction, the orientation degree along this direction increasing with the increase of the LDPE amount in the blends. The b‐axis changed its preferential orientation from film thickness in the 100/0 LLDPE/LDPE film to along the transverse direction with increasing LDPE in the blends. The c‐axis changed its orientation from orthogonal to normal direction in the 100/0 LLDPE/LDPE film to along the film thickness with increasing LDPE in the blends. Polarized IR characterization showed a negligible orientation of the amorphous phase. The amount of crystallinity was dependent on blend composition decreasing with the increase of LDPE content in the blends. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2760–2767, 2006     

Effects of filler size and content on shrinkage and gloss of injection molded PBT/PET/talc composites

Effects of filler size and content on the shrinkage of injection molded poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene terephthalate)/talc (PBT/PET/talc) composites were investigated. Circular plate specimens were examined by a field emission scanning electron microscope and a numerical analysis code was used for modeling of the injection molding. Orientation effects of polymer molecules and fillers on the shrinkage behavior of PBT/PET/talc composites were illustrated by using schematic diagrams. It was found that the planes of talc particles were aligned parallel to the mold wall due to applied shear stresses and the largest axes of the disk‐like talc particles were oriented along the flow direction. Shrinkage of the PBT/PET/talc composites was decreased more rapidly along the flow direction than along the transverse direction as the talc content was increased. Small‐sized talc was more effective for reduction of the surface shrinkage of PBT/PET composites than titanium dioxide (TiO₂) or large‐sized talc. Although the PBT/PET polymer matrix almost covered the surface of talc particles, surface gloss of the particle filled composites was decreased as the size of mineral filler was increased. POLYM. COMPOS., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Crystal orientation distributions in injection-molded polypropylene compounds

The crystal orientation distribution in injection-molded bars made from several polypropylene compounds has been investigated using pole figure analysis. The fillers used were glass fibers, chalk, and talc, and some compounds contained one filler and others contained glass fibers plus one or both of the others. All compounds showed strong orientation in the skin with the b-axis of the monoclinic crystals lying preferentially normal to the flow direction and in many cases parallel to the normal to the bar face. This normal direction orientation was very strong in compounds containing talc and is probably caused by crystals forming with their (010) planes on the talc platelet faces, which align themselves parallel to the mold face. Strong orientation persists into the interior of the moldings containing talc, whereas in the other compounds, the orientation at intermediate depths is much less pronounced than in the skin. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.