The effect of elastomeric nano-particles on the mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of polypropylene

Generally, toughness of polypropylene (PP) is an issue which has been investigated for many years to search for improvements. A traditional approach is to blend with rubber particles to enhance the toughness of PP yet modulus of PP decreases accordingly. Recently, we have achieved a good balance of toughness and stiffness of PP via blending PP with a small amount of elastomeric nano-particles (ENP). Based on our measurements, mechanical properties of the blends studied both the toughness of PP at room temperature and at −20 °C show substantial increase. On the other hand, the stiffness of the PP blends retains or even possesses a slight enhancement. One of the reasons for this improvement is due to the fact that the ENP is not only a toughening modifier but also a nucleation agent for the PP. The nucleation density of the blends increases, while the crystallization kinetics of the blends becomes faster compared with the pure PP samples.