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Mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of high fluidity polypropylene/metallocene poly(ethylene–butene–hexene) copolymer blends
Author(s) -
Tang Yingying,
Wang Jingyi,
Jia Hongbing,
Ding Lifeng,
Jiang Qi
Publication year - 2013
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.39476
Subject(s) - materials science , crystallinity , polypropylene , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , polymer blend , scanning electron microscope , copolymer , crystallization , izod impact strength test , phase (matter) , hexene , metallocene , rheology , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , polymerization , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
This article presents a study on blends of high fluid polypropylene (HF‐PP)/metallocene poly(ethylene–butane–hexene) copolymer (mEBHC) prepared by melt‐blending process using a twin‐screw extruder. Six different mass fractions of mEBHC in the blends: 0, 5, 10, 30%, and 100% were investigated in our study. The thermal behavior, fracture surface morphology, mechanical properties, and rheological properties of the blends were analyzed. Our results suggested that phase separation of HF‐PP/mEBHC blends occurred during the cooling process. The addition of 30 wt % mEBHC resulted in a rise of crystallinity of HF‐PP/mEBHC blends from 22.8% to 34.9%. The wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) showed that the incorporation of mEBHC did not have any influence on the intrinsic crystal structure of HF‐PP. The droplet‐matrix micrographs of the blends given by scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that mEBHC particles were dispersed as “droplet” in HF‐PP continuous phase. When mEBHC content was increased up to 30%, the impact strength at 23 ° C and −20 ° C of HF‐PP/mEBHC blends were improved by 150 and 35%, respectively, while the tensile strength and flexural strength were decreased slightly, compared to pristine HF‐PP. The apparent shear viscosities of blends were similar to that of pristine HF‐PP. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2557–2562, 2013