Polypropylene copolymers crystallization rate

The crystallization behavior and kinetics under isothermal conditions of iPP/SBH and HDPE/SBH blends, compatibilized with PP-g-SBH and PE-g-SBH copolymers, respectively, have been investigated (71). It has been established that the LCP dispersed phase in the blends plays a nucleation role for the polyolefin matrix crystallization. This effect is more pronounced in the polypropylene matrix than in the polyethylene matrix, due to the lower crystallization rate of the former. The addition of PP-g-SBH copolymers (2.5-10 wt%) to 90/10 and 80/20 iPP/SBH blends provokes a drastic increase of the overall crystallization rate of the iPP matrix and of the degree of crystallinity. Table 17.4 collects the isothermal crystallization parameters for uncompatibilized and compatibilized iPP/SBH blends (71). On the contrary, the addition of PE-g-SBH copolymers (COP or COP 120) (2.5-8 wt%) to 80/20 HDPE/SBH blends almost does not change or only slightly decreases the PE overall crystallization rate (71). This is due to some difference in the compatibilization mechanism and efficiency of both types of graft copolymers (PP-g-SBH and PE-g-SBH). The two polyolefin-g-SBH copolymers migrate to blend interfaces and... 

Looking at the data asse ed, it is clear that the talc and, to a lesser degree, the sepiolite have a marked effect on the crystallization rate of the polypropylene, as deduced from the values of the K constant (Table 1) and by comparison of the conversion-time graphs represented in Fig. 1. This latter fact classify these fillers as nucleating agents, a feature absent in the case of the block copolymer whose impact on the crystal lization rate is practically none. 

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