Compositional Analysis of an Impact Polypropylene Copolymer by Fast Scanning DSC and FTIR of TREF-SEC Cross-Fractions

Assessing Fast Structure Formation Processes in Isotactic Polypropylene with a Combination of Nanofocus X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Nanocalorimetry

A combination of in situ nanocalorimetry with simultaneous nanofocus 2D Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) was used to study polymorphic behaviour and structure formation in a single micro-drop of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) with defined thermal history. We were able to generate, detect, and characterize a number of different iPP morphologies using our custom-built ultrafast chip-based nanocalorimetry instrument designed for use with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) high intensity nanofocus X-ray beamline facility. The detected iPP morphologies included monoclinic alpha-phase crystals, mesophase, and mixed morphologies with different mesophase/crystalline compositional ratios. Monoclinic crystals formed from the mesophase became unstable at heating rates above 40 K s-1 and showed melting temperatures as low as ~30 K below those measured for iPP crystals formed by slow cooling. We also studied the real-time melt crystallization of nanogram-sized iPP samples. Our analysis revealed a mesophase nucleation time of around 1 s and the co-existence of mesophase and growing disordered crystals at high supercooling ≤328 K. The further increase of the iPP crystallization temperature to 338 K changed nucleation from homogeneous to heterogeneous. No mesophase was detected above 348 K. Low supercooling (≥378 K) led to the continuous growth of the alpha-phase crystals. In conclusion, we have, for the first time, measured the mesophase nucleation time of supercooled iPP melted under isothermal crystallization conditions using a dedicated experimental setup designed to allow simultaneous ultrafast chip-based nanocalorimetry and nanofocus X-ray diffraction analyses. We also provided experimental evidence that upon heating, the mesophase converts directly into thermodynamically stable monoclinic alpha-phase crystals via perfection and reorganization and not via partial melting. The complex phase behaviour of iPP and its dependence on both crystallization temperature and time is presented here using a time-temperature-transformation (TTT) diagram.

Toughened High-Flow Polypropylene with Polyolefin-based Elastomers

Polyolefin is the most widely used and versatile commodity polymer. In this work, three types of polyolefin-based elastomers (PBEs) were adopted to toughen a high-flow polypropylene to improve its overall performance. The chain microstructures of these PBEs, including ethylene/1-octene (E/O) random copolymer from Dow Chemical′s polyolefin elastomer (POE), olefin block copolymers (OBCs) of E/O from Dow, and ethylene/propylene random copolymer from ExxonMobil’s propylene-based elastomer, were elucidated by GPC, ¹³C NMR, TREF, and DSC techniques. The mechanical, thermal and optical properties, and morphology analysis of the PP/PBE blends were also studied to investigate the toughening mechanism of these PBEs. The results showed that all three types of PBEs can effectively improve the Izod impact strength of the PP/PBE blends by the addition of the rubber compositions, at the cost of the stiffness. PBE-1 and PBE-2 were found to have a great stiffness–toughness balance with about 1700 MPa of flexural modulus, about 110 °C of HDT and 3.6 kJ/m² of impact strength on the prepared PP/PBE blends by forming separated rubber phase and refined spherulite crystals. As a result, the OBC with alternating hard and soft segments could achieve a similar toughening effect as the E/P random copolymer. Surprisingly, no obvious rubber phase separation was observed in the PP/PBE-4 blend, which might be due to the good compatibility of the E/P random chains with the isotactic PP; therefore, the PP/PBE blend obtains great toughness performance and optical transparency with the highest Izod impact strength of 4.2 kJ/m² and excellent transparency.

A multidimensional fractionation protocol for the oligomer analysis of oxidized waxes

Oxidized waxes possess far superior properties as compared to the alkanes they are derived from. The separation of alkane oligomers via gas chromatography (GC) becomes a challenge when polar oxygen-containing functional groups are introduced or when higher molar masses are targeted. In the present study, the separation and analysis of oligomers in oxidized and non-oxidized waxes using different liquid chromatographic techniques are investigated. Oligomers in two oxidized waxes and a non-oxidized wax from which they are derived, are separated using high-temperature solvent gradient interaction chromatography (HT-SGIC) and high-temperature two-dimensional liquid chromatography (HT-2D-LC). Evaporative light scattering detector conditions are tailored to provide the best detection with the solvent system at use. It is shown that oligomers in oxidized and non-oxidized waxes can be separated and identified using the mentioned techniques. It has been found that the ELSD detector response systematically decreases as the oxidation levels of the waxes increase. Coupling of HT-HPLC and high-temperature size exclusion chromatography (HT-SEC) in a comprehensive 2D-LC setup shows a broadening of the molar mass distributions of the lower oligomer fractions as a consequence of the modification indicating changes in the oligomer chain microstructures. A preparative fractionation technique is utilized to collect specific oligomer fractions from the bulk waxes followed by hyphenation to HT-HPLC and other techniques. HPLC is shown to provide more detailed information on the oligomer composition of waxes when coupled to a pre-fractionation technique.

Experimental Test of Tammann's Nuclei Development Approach in Crystallization of Macromolecules

Prediction of the supermolecular structure and with that of properties of crystallizable polymers requires in-depth knowledge about the crystallization behavior, in particular the temperature-dependence of the nucleation kinetics. Typically, at low supercooling of the melt the nucleation rate/nuclei density often is assessed by optical microscopy, through an analysis of the evolution of the spherulitic superstructure. This approach fails if the nuclei density is too high, or if nuclei formation is not followed by growth due to chain-mobility constraints. In such cases, Tammann's two-stage crystal nuclei development method can be applied. It includes the formation of crystal nuclei at high supercooling of the melt, and their detection at higher temperature, after their growth to crystals. Though initially developed for analysis of low molecular mass compounds, this approach has recently also successfully been employed for analysis of the nucleation behavior of polymers, which is demonstrated here on the examples of poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA), and poly (∊-caprolactone) (PCL). While in case of PLLA the ability to gain information about isothermal and non-isothermal nucleation is explained, in case of PCL new information about the thermal stability of nuclei is presented. The importance of such analyses in the context of understanding structure formation of polymers at processing-relevant cooling conditions is discussed.