Influence of nucleation and growth mechanisms on the heat deflection temperature of a reactively processed polypropylene nanocomposite

Abstract

The development of a reactively processed polypropylene nanocomposite (PPNC) with consequential improvements in the heat deflection temperature (HDT), Vicat softening temperature (VST), and crystallization peak temperature (Tc) is reported herein. Neat PP without nanoclay was also reactively processed to elucidate the effects of fillers on the improvement in physical properties. The results show a considerable improvement in the HDT of PPNC (77.9 °C) compared to those of neat PP (62.6 °C) and reactively processed branched PP (BPP; 69.2 °C). Moreover, the Tc of PP in PPNC improved by ~14% compared to that of neat PP. Various models of nonisothermal crystallization kinetics were employed to elucidate the nucleation and crystal growth mechanisms, and to correlate them with the observed HDT improvement in PPNC. Thermal transitions investigated by modulated differential scanning calorimetry explained the changes observed in the VSTs of all the samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on a significant improvement in HDT along with a marked increase in Tc. Such simultaneous improvements in HDT, VST, and Tc are highly desirable for applications involving the use of PP‐based materials in rigid packaging.

Improved Strength and Heat Distortion Temperature of Emi-Aromatic Polyamide 10T-co-1012 (PA10T/1012)/GO Composites via In Situ Polymerization

“…Third, adding inorganic fillers or other rigid fillers will hinder the movement of molecular chains, and adding cross-linking modifiers will reduce the mobility of the chain segments. At the same time, when the filler exceeds a certain amount, it can form a rigid network structure which can also improve the heat resistance to a certain extent [ 38 , 39 ].…”

Influence of material modification and fillers on the dimensional stability and warpage of polypropylene in screw‐extrusion‐based large area additive manufacturing

“…[ 17,30,31 ] Talc shows the strongest nucleating effect, owing to its small size compared to glass fibers and glass beads. [ 30,32 ]…”

“…[17,30,31] Talc shows the strongest nucleating effect, owing to its small size compared to glass fibers and glass beads. [30,32] The DSC measurements show, that the used fillers and modification influence the material properties of the compounds regarding melting enthalpy ΔH m , crystallization temperature T c , enthalpy of crystallization ΔH c and degree of crystallinity Χ C . An increased crystallization temperature due to nucleation is found.…”

A review on the processing–morphology–property relationship in biodegradable polymer composites containing carbon nanotubes and nanofibers

“…Such materials are usually based on nanoparticles or nanofillers, which have received tremendous attention due to the distinctive properties they exhibit. [9][10][11][12] Nanomaterials possess high specific surface area in their nanometer range, a feature most desired in different research fields. [13,14] Carbon allotropes-based nanoparticles have garnered interest in various fields such as nanocomposites, sensing technology, catalysis, etc.…”