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Industrially Scalable Approach to Nanohybrid Shish Kebabs by In Situ Nanofibrillation of Isotactic Poly(propylene)
Author(s) -
Niu Ben,
Miao XiaRan,
Chen Jun,
Ji Xu,
Zhong GanJi,
Li ZhongMing
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201500227
Subject(s) - low density polyethylene , materials science , tacticity , composite material , polymer , polyethylene , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymerization , engineering
Herein, a feasible protocol of nanohybrid shish kebab (NHSK) in isotactic poly(propylene) (iPP)/low density polyethylene (LDPE) blend is shown, where iPP nanofibrils in situ generate during melt compounding followed by hot stretching, thus serving as shish to induce the kebabs of LDPE under extensional flow, therewith leading to greatly improved mechanical properties. Although scanning electron microscope and small angle X‐ray scattering results reveal classic characteristic of NHSK, wide angle X‐ray diffraction demonstrates that some LDPE chains within the kebabs of LDPE are actually tilted off the flow direction. Through the comparison of LDPE lamellae epitaxially growing on iPP nanofibrils substrate under quiescent condition, it is concluded that the extensional flow affects the formation of NHSK notably, mainly by enhancing nuclei density and further influencing the twist of LDPE lamellae. Moreover, of particular significance is the methodology based on practical processing of extrusion in this work, making it promising to industrially achieve NHSK in polymer blend with advanced performance.