Relationship between the structure and mechanical properties of polypropylene: Effects of the molecular weight and shear‐induced structure

A series of homopolymer polypropylenes (PPs), within a weight‐average molecular weight (M_w) range of 100–1600 kg/mol, were manufactured as dumbbell microspecimens. The effects of the molecular weight and shear‐induced crystallization on the mechanical properties and morphology were studied to gain a better understanding of the structure–property relationship. The results showed that the crystallinity decreased from 50 to 41% and the lamellar thickness increased as M_w increased. Tensile tests demonstrated that the stiffness and especially the tensile strength rose to extremely high values (Young's modulus = 2400 N/mm², stress at 30% strain = 120 N/mm²). Furthermore, the strain hardening effect was strongly affected by the lamellar thickness and highly oriented superstructures. Dynamic mechanical analysis demonstrated that the mobility of the molecular chains depended on M_w and on the lamellar thickness. In addition, the viscoelastic properties of unannealed and annealed samples indicated further the existence of shish‐kebab structures caused by shear‐induced crystallization during injection molding. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 519–533, 2007