Effects of organic nucleating agents and zinc oxide nanoparticles on isotactic polypropylene crystallization |
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Authors: | Jianguo Tang Yao Wang Laurence A Belfiore |
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Affiliation: | a College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People's Republic of China b Polymer Physics and Engineering Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA |
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Abstract: | Organic nucleating agents and inorganic nanoparticles, as well as their hybrid composites, affect the crystallization temperature and morphology of the monoclinic α-form of isotactic polypropylene (iPP). Techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry, hot-stage optical microscopy with cross polars, wide angle X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy were employed. Nanoparticles of zinc oxide function as efficient supports for 1,3,5-benzene tricarboxylic-(N-2-methylcyclohexyl)triamine because the temperature at which the maximum rate of iPP crystallization occurs during 10 °C/min cooling from the molten state increases from 111 °C for the pure polymer to 125 °C at low concentrations of this hybrid nucleating agent. In the absence of zinc oxide, 0.06 wt% of this aliphatic triamine recrystallizes near 165 °C and increases the crystallization temperature of iPP by 7 °C, relative to the pure polymer. Fluorinated aromatic triamines, such as 1,3,5-benzene tricaboxylic-(N-4-fluorophenyl)triamine, are weak nucleating agents that reduce spherulite size in isotactic polypropylene but only increase the crystallization temperature marginally when the polymer is cooled from the molten state. Both micro- and nanoparticles of zinc oxide reduce spherulite size in isotactic polypropylene, but smaller spherulites are observed when the inorganic nanoparticles exhibit dimensions on the order of 40-150 nm relative to micron-size particles. In contrast, 0.06 wt% of the aliphatic triamine in iPP yields a distorted birefringent texture under cross polars that is not spherulitic. Non-spherulitic birefringent textures in iPP are also observed when the aliphatic triamine nucleating agent is coated onto micro- or nanoparticles of zinc oxide. This study demonstrates that the nonisothermal crystallization temperature of isotactic polypropylene increases by an additional 7 °C when an aliphatic triamine is distributed efficiently within the polymeric matrix by coating this nucleating agent onto zinc oxide nanoparticles. |
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Keywords: | Isotactic polypropylene Zinc oxide nanoparticles Organic triamine nucleating agents |
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