Colloid and Polymer Science

, Volume 287, Issue 5, pp 615–620 | Cite as

Crystallization and morphology of iPP/MWCNT prepared by compounding iPP melt with MWCNT aqueous suspension

  • Chao-Lu Yin
  • Zheng-Ying Liu
  • Wei Yang
  • Ming-Bo Yang
  • Jian-Min Feng
Short Communication
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

In this work, isotactic polypropylene (iPP) composites filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by compounding iPP melt with MWCNT aqueous suspension using a corotating twin-screw extruder, and the morphology and crystallization behavior of the composites were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy micrographs showed that MWCNTs dispersed individually at nanoscale in the iPP matrix when the MWCNTs concentration was low, though MWCNTs aggregates were detected when the filler concentration increased. The results of differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, and polarized light microscopy indicated that the β-form crystal of iPP was induced by MWCNTs at the concentration of 0.1 wt.% which was dispersed individually in the iPP matrix. At higher content, however, MWCNTs acted as α-nucleating agent, and the crystals in the iPP/MWCNT composites showed higher degree of perfection than that of pure iPP though smaller in dimension. Crystallization rate of iPP increased significantly with increasing MWCNT content.

Keywords

Isotactic polypropylene MWCNTs Aqueous suspension dispersion Crystallization β-crystal 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of this work by the National Natural Science Foundation Commission of China (grant number 10590351).

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Chao-Lu Yin
    • 1
  • Zheng-Ying Liu
    • 1
  • Wei Yang
    • 1
  • Ming-Bo Yang
    • 1
  • Jian-Min Feng
    • 1
  1. 1.College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials EngineeringSichuan UniversityChengduPeople’s Republic of China

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