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Non-isothermal crystallization behavior and melting behavior of Ziegler–Natta isotactic polypropylene with different stereo-defect distribution nucleated with bi-component β-nucleation agent

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Abstract

The influence of bi-component β-nucleating agent of pimelic acid/calcium stearate (Pa–Cast) on the non-isothermal crystallization behavior and polymorphic composition of two isotactic polypropylene (iPP) samples with nearly same average isotacticity but different uniformities of stereo-defect distribution were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The results indicated that Pa–Cast has very high β-nucleation efficiency, and greatly increases the crystallization rate of both samples. After the addition of Pa–Cast, the sample with more uniform distribution of stereo-defect and less fraction of high isotacticity (denoted as PCPP-B) is more favorable for formation of large amount of β-phase; meanwhile, its increase of crystallization peak temperature T c is obviously more prominent. Further analysis of melting behavior showed that the β-phase content greatly depends on the cooling rate applied, the stereo-defect distribution of iPP and the end temperature of cooling (T end). When T end = 50 °C, for iPP with less uniform stereo-defect distribution (PCPP-A), the slow cooling rate favors the formation of high β-content, while for PCPP-B, the fast cooling rate favors the formation of high β-content, which should be attributed to the combination effect of the ability for β-crystallization and the thermal stability of the β-phase. After elimination of the confusion of β–α recrystallization during heating (T end = 100 °C), it turns out that for both PCPP-A and PCPP-B, higher cooling rate is more favorable for β-crystallization. PCPP-A is more favorable for the formation of β-phase with higher thermal stability compared with PCPP-B.

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Acknowledgments

We express our sincere thanks to the Sichuan University Scientific Research Foundation for Young Teachers (2012SCU11075) and National Science Foundation of China (NSFC 51203106) for the financial support.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, People’s Republic of China

    Zhengfang Chen, Wuli Kang, Jian Kang, Jinyao Chen, Feng Yang, Ya Cao & Ming Xiang

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  1. Zhengfang Chen
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  2. Wuli Kang
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Correspondence to Jian Kang.

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Chen, Z., Kang, W., Kang, J. et al. Non-isothermal crystallization behavior and melting behavior of Ziegler–Natta isotactic polypropylene with different stereo-defect distribution nucleated with bi-component β-nucleation agent. Polym. Bull. 72, 3283–3303 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-015-1466-5

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