Effect of comonomer partitioning on the kinetics of mesophase formation in random copolymers of propene and higher α-olefins

Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Poly(ethylene glycol) and Poly(ethylene glycol)-B-Poly(ε-caprolactone) by Flash DSC Analysis

The non-isothermal crystallization behaviors of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly (ethylene glycol)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) were investigated through a commercially available chip-calorimeter Flash DSC2+. The non-isothermal crystallization data under different cooling rates were analyzed by the Ozawa model, modified Avrami model, and Mo model. The results of the non-isothermal crystallization showed that the PCL block crystallized first, followed by the crystallization of the PEG block when the cooling rate was 50-200 K/s. However, only the PEG block can crystallize when the cooling rate is 300-600 K/s. The crystallization of PEG-PCL is completely inhibited when the cooling rate is 1000 K/s. The modified Avrami and Ozawa models were found to describe the non-isothermal crystallization processes well. The growth methods of PEG and PEG-PCL are both three-dimensional spherulitic growth. The Mo model shows that the crystallization rate of PEG is greater than that of PEG-PCL.

Pressure- and Temperature-Dependent Crystallization Kinetics of Isotactic Polypropylene under Process Relevant Conditions

In this study, a non-nucleated homopolymer (HP) and random copolymer (RACO), as well as a nucleated HP and heterophasic copolymer (HECO) were investigated regarding their crystallization kinetics. Using pvT-measurements and fast scanning chip calorimetry (FSC), the crystallization behavior was analyzed as a function of pressure, cooling rate and temperature. It is shown that pressure and cooling rate have an opposite influence on the crystallization temperature of the materials. Furthermore, the addition of nucleating agents to the material has a significant effect on the maximum cooling rate at which the formation of α-crystals is still possible. The non-nucleated HP and RACO materials show significant differences that can be related to the sterically hindering effect of the comonomer units of RACO on crystallization, while the nucleated materials HP and HECO show similar crystallization kinetics despite their different structures. The pressure-dependent shift factor of the crystallization temperature is independent of the material. The results contribute to the description of the relationship between the crystallization kinetics of the material and the process parameters influencing the injection-molding induced morphology. This is required to realize process control in injection molding in order to produce pre-defined morphologies and to design material properties.

Crystallization of Random Metallocene-Catalyzed Propylene-Based Copolymers with Ethylene and 1-Hexene on Rapid Cooling

Propylene-based random copolymers with either ethylene or 1-hexene as comonomer, produced using a metallocene catalyst, were studied regarding their crystallization behaviors, with a focus on rapid cooling. To get an impression of processing effects, fast scanning chip calorimetry (FSC) was used in addition to the characterization of the mechanical performance. When comparing the comonomer type and the relation to commercial grades based on Ziegler-Natta-type catalysts, both an interaction with the catalyst-related regio-defects and a significant difference between ethylene and 1-hexene was observed. A soluble-type nucleating agent was found to modify the behavior, but to an increasingly lesser degree at high cooling rates.

Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Poly(Ethylene Glycol)-Poly(l-Lactide) Diblock Copolymer and Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Homopolymer via Fast-Scan Chip-Calorimeter

The non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of double-crystallizable poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(l-lactide) diblock copolymer (PEG-PLLA) and poly(ethylene glycol) homopolymer (PEG) were studied using the fast cooling rate provided by a Fast-Scan Chip-Calorimeter (FSC). The experimental data were analyzed by the Ozawa method and the Kissinger equation. Additionally, the total crystallization rate was represented by crystallization half time t1/2. The Ozawa method is a perfect success because secondary crystallization is inhibited by using fast cooling rate. The first crystallized PLLA block provides nucleation sites for the crystallization of PEG block and thus promotes the crystallization of the PEG block, which can be regarded as heterogeneous nucleation to a certain extent, while the method of the PEG block and PLLA block crystallized together corresponds to a one-dimensional growth, which reflects that there is a certain separation between the crystallization regions of the PLLA block and PEG block. Although crystallization of the PLLA block provides heterogeneous nucleation conditions for PEG block to a certain extent, it does not shorten the time of the whole crystallization process because of the complexity of the whole crystallization process including nucleation and growth.

Systematic Investigation on the Structure-Property Relationship in Isotactic Polypropylene Films Processed via Cast Film Extrusion

The effect of cast film extrusion processing conditions, such as the chill-roll temperature, temperature of the melt, and line speed, on the structure of different isotactic polypropylene homo- and random copolymers has been investigated by means of Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS and WAXS) and correlated to stiffness and haze. Stiffness and transparency have been found to be strongly dependent on the temperature of the chill-roll. Interestingly, line speed has been found to affect the total crystallinity when the chill-roll temperature is increased, while an overall minor effect of the melt temperature was found for all cast films. The polymer characteristics, defined by the catalyst nature and comonomer content, affect the final material performance, with the single-site catalyzed grades performing better in both mechanics and optics. Haze levels were found to correlate with the mesophase content rather than to α-crystallinity and to be dependent on the domain size for all grades. The remarkably low haze levels reached by the single-site grade with higher isotacticity can arise from high nucleation rate and orientational effects, which ultimately yield smaller and smoother scattering domains.