Crystallization of isotactic polypropylene: the effect of fiber surface

Abstract

Different quantitative approaches enabling the determination of the basic parameters of polymer crystallization were applied to characterize the isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization of homo- and MAH-modified PP in the presence of glass and carbon fibers. Depending on the type of surface treatment and the surface morphology, the fibers were shown to exhibit different nucleation effects, which further influenced the course of the crystallization process. The results obtained by DSC and POM were evaluated using the induction time approach, interfacial energy parameters method, as well as the method for determination of the work of heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation in polymer systems with additives.

Keywords

• polypropylene
• crystallization
• kinetics
• nucleations effects
• glass fibers
• carbon fibers
• model composites