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Influence of two liquid crystalline polysiloxanes with different average molecular weight as new β-nucleator on crystallization structure of isotactic polypropylene

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Abstract

Two liquid crystalline polymers (LC-N1 and LC-N2) with different average molecular weight were designed and synthesized as a new β-nucleator in isotactic polypropylene (iPP). The main aim of this work was to investigate the influence of LC-N1 and LC-N2 on the crystallization structure and β nucleating activity of the iPP with wide angle X-ray diffraction and polarized optical microscopy. The β nucleation activity not only depended on the nucleator content, mesogenic molecular structure, and thermal processing history, but also on average molecular weight of the liquid crystalline polymers. LC-N1 or LC-N2 has been found to be an effective β-nucleator for the iPP. The experimental results indicated the relative content of β-crystal first increased and then decreased with increasing the nucleator content or crystallization temperature. The addition of LC-N1 or LC-N2 could provide a large number of nuclei, enhance the crystallization rate, reduce the spherulite size, and lead to a more uniform morphology; moreover, the colorful β-crystal was also induced. In addition, LC-N2 with higher average molecular weight is more effective than LC-N1 in inducing β heterogeneous nucleation under same crystallization conditions.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Science and Technology Bureau of Shenyang, and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (N100605001, N110405006 and N110705001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110004, People’s Republic of China

    Jing Sun, Qun Li, Xi-Jing Yao, Jian-She Hu & Yang Qi

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  1. Jing Sun
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  2. Qun Li
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  3. Xi-Jing Yao
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Correspondence to Jian-She Hu.

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Sun, J., Li, Q., Yao, XJ. et al. Influence of two liquid crystalline polysiloxanes with different average molecular weight as new β-nucleator on crystallization structure of isotactic polypropylene. Polym. Bull. 70, 2519–2530 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-013-0969-1

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