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Directional solidification of isotactic and atactic polypropylene blends
Author(s) -
Kaiser Eric J.,
Mcgrath John J.,
Bénard André
Publication year - 2000
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(20000606)76:10<1516::aid-app5>3.0.co;2-w
Subject(s) - microstructure , materials science , tacticity , polypropylene , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , crystallinity , tensile testing , yield (engineering) , modulus , fabrication , young's modulus , directional solidification , polymer , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , polymerization
The directional solidification of polypropylene (PP) films results in an oriented semicrystalline microstructure and may offer a method to improve the properties of a product. The directional solidification of isotactic PP samples blended with 0% to 50% atactic PP, by mass, was therefore studied. The effects of composition and processing conditions were monitored to determine how they affect the quality and microstructure of the directionally solidified films. Difficulty was encountered in reproducing testable samples with a unidirectional crystal microstructure. Tensile testing of directionally solidified films was used to quantify the yield strength and elastic modulus of the films. These properties were compared with those of other PP films. The tensile test results do not support the hypothesis that enhanced mechanical properties were produced by directional solidification of the PP films. Improving the sample fabrication method and optimizing the processes involved may, however, lead to directionally solidified PP films with enhanced mechanical properties. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 76: 1516–1528, 2000