Premium
Effect of exposure time on the mechanical properties of solvent vapor‐treated polypropylene films
Author(s) -
Ugbolue S. C. O.,
Uzomah T. C.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19961205)62:10<1693::aid-app20>3.0.co;2-1
Subject(s) - polypropylene , solvent , materials science , chloroform , polymer , hildebrand solubility parameter , tacticity , dichloromethane , solubility , polymer chemistry , toluene , chemical engineering , polypropylene glycol , boiling point , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , polyethylene glycol , engineering , polymerization
This investigation seeks to establish the effect of pretensioning and solvent vapor treatment on polypropylene films. There are observed changes in the thickness of the polypropylene films. It is surmised that relatively small molecules such as chloroform, petroleum ether, dichloromethane, and toluene diffused into the polymer film more easily and resulted in maximum percent elongation in the shortest possible time. Decalin and tetralin, which are good solvents for polypropylene, brought about low percent elongation value at 27°C and their behavior is explained in terms of the high boiling point of the liquid and their ability to contribute low vapor pressure on the polypropylene film at the temperature of investigation. Attempts to relate the absolute difference between the solubility parameter of the polymer and the various solvents, |Δδ|, with the mechanical properties of the polypropylene film showed complex relationships. However, chloroform and reformate with |Δδ| = 0.2 MPa 1/2 are most soluble, whereas naptha and petroleum spirit with |Δδ| = 1.7 MPa 1/2 are least soluble for the pretensioned polypropylene films. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.