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Polymer crystallization studies under processing‐relevant conditions at the SAXS/WAXS DUBBLE beamline at the ESRF
Author(s) -
Portale Giuseppe,
Cavallo Dario,
Alfonso Giovanni Carlo,
HermidaMerino Daniel,
van Drongelen Martin,
Balzano Luigi,
Peters G. W. M.,
Goossens J. G. P.,
Bras Wim
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s0021889813027076
Subject(s) - beamline , small angle x ray scattering , crystallinity , materials science , synchrotron , scattering , crystallization , wide angle x ray scattering , crystallization of polymers , polypropylene , polymer , diffraction , tacticity , optics , chemical engineering , composite material , small angle neutron scattering , physics , beam (structure) , polymerization , neutron scattering , engineering
Recent developments on the experimental infrastructure and the acquisition of new detectors on the Dutch–Belgian beamline BM26B at the ESRF offer novel and promising possibilities for synchrotron X‐ray experiments in the field of polymer crystallization under processing‐relevant conditions. In this contribution, some of the most recent experiments mimicking conditions similar to those relevant for the plastics processing industry are discussed. Simultaneous thermal analysis and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS) experiments, at the millisecond time‐frame level, on β‐nucleated isotactic polypropylene (i‐PP) samples subjected to ballistic cooling up to 230 K s −1 , show that the efficiency of the nucleating agent can be suppressed when quenched cooling rates higher than 130 K s −1 are used. In situ WAXS experiments using small‐scale industrial equipment during a real film blowing process reveal the dependence of the onset of crystallinity (the so‐called freeze line) and the crystal orientation as a function of different take‐up and blow‐up ratios. In situ small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) experiments during high‐flow fields reveal the formation of shish and kebab structures in i‐PP as a function of the imposed stress. Quantitative analysis of i‐PP flow‐induced structures is presented. The beamline specifications required to obtain high quality and industrially relevant results are also briefly reported.