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Influences of copolymerization conditions on the structure and properties of isotactic polypropylene/ethylene–propylene random copolymer in situ blends
Author(s) -
Zhang YuQing,
Fan ZhiQiang,
Feng LinXian
Publication year - 2002
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/app.10415
Subject(s) - copolymer , materials science , polymer chemistry , monomer , tacticity , ethylene , polypropylene , polymerization , flexural modulus , flexural strength , composite material , polymer , catalysis , chemistry , organic chemistry
Abstract A spherical TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 ‐based catalyst was used in the synthesis of in situ isotactic polypropylene/ethylene–propylene random copolymer blends by propylene bulk polymerization and subsequent gas‐phase copolymerization of ethylene with propylene. Different copolymerization conditions, such as the reaction time, monomer pressure, and composition, were investigated, and their influences on the structure and properties of the products were studied. Raising the monomer pressure was the most effective way of speeding up the copolymerization, but it caused more increases in the random copolymer than the block copolymer fractions. Increasing the ethylene content of the monomer feed also resulted in higher reaction rates and copolymer contents, but the ethylene contents of both the random and block copolymer fractions were also raised. In situ blends that contain more than 50 wt % copolymer were prepared. The mechanical properties of the blends, including the impact strength and flexural modulus, were regulated in a rather broad range with changes in the copolymerization conditions. The properties were highly dependent on the amount, distribution, and chain structure of the copolymer fractions. The impact strength was influenced by both the random copolymer and block copolymer portions in a complicated way, whereas the flexural modulus was mainly determined by the amount of random copolymer. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 445–453, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10415