Open AccessZinc pimelate as an effective β‐nucleating agent for isotactic polypropylene at elevated pressures and under rapid cooling rates
Author(s) -
Qin Wei,
Liu Kehua,
Xin Zhong,
Ling Hao,
Zhou Shuai,
Zhao Shicheng
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
polymer crystallization
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.443
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 2573-7619
DOI - 10.1002/pcr2.10132
Subject(s) - tacticity , crystallization , differential scanning calorimetry , polypropylene , materials science , nucleation , zinc , chemical engineering , composite material , chemistry , thermodynamics , metallurgy , polymer , organic chemistry , polymerization , engineering , physics
Abstract Along with the pressure and cooling rate, β‐nucleating agents (β‐NAs) can enhance the formation of β‐crystals during the processing of isotactic polypropylene (iPP), controlling both the polymorphic structure and properties of the resulting iPP product. In this study, we found that synthetic zinc pimelate (ZnPA) is a highly active and selective β‐NA, with the relative β‐crystal content ( k β ) reaching 0.99 after its addition to polypropylene at 0.1 wt%. Using high‐pressure differential scanning calorimetry (HP‐DSC) to study the static pressure effect of ZnPA on the nucleation ability of β‐iPP, we found that a N 2 atmosphere lowered the crystallization temperature of polypropylene, while a He atmosphere accelerated the crystallization process upon increasing the pressure. Flash‐DSC revealed that a lower cooling rate (<20°C/s) benefited the formation of β‐crystals. This work could reveal the instability of β‐NAs during the commercial application.