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Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics and nucleation behavior of isotactic polypropylene composites with micro-talc

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Abstract

The non-isothermal crystallization (NIC) of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and its composites with submicronic talc particles (μ-talc) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry. The modeling of the NIC kinetics of the iPP matrix was performed using Jeziorny-modified Avrami’s model, Ozawa’s and Mo’s theoretical approaches. The Jeziorny’s and Ozawa’s theories allowed us to confirm that the μ-talc filler particles significantly promote the NIC kinetics of the iPP matrix which noticeably manifests itself via a change in the nucleation mechanism. However, Mo’s model proved to be the more relevant model to account for the NIC of the present materials. In parallel, the activation energy and nucleation activity of NIC were calculated by Kissinger’s and Dobreva’s methods, respectively. Both approaches reveal that a maximum nucleation activity of μ-talc takes place for 20% filler content. This finding is discussed in relation to the μ-talc content thresholds of mechanical percolation and crystallinity saturation that were reported in previous studies for these composites, about 10 and 30% μ-talc, respectively. An endeavor of physical explanation for these phenomena is put forward.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Multibase/Dow Corning (Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France) for supplying the injection-molded samples and data on the processing conditions and physicochemical characteristics as well. Dr. P. Prèle from Multibase is particularly acknowledged for fruitful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut des Sciences et Techniques Appliquées, UFMC 1, 25000, Constantine, Algeria

    Abdelheq Layachi

  2. Laboratoire des Silicates, Polymères et Nanocomposites, Université du 8 Mai 1945, 24000, Guelma, Algeria

    Abdelheq Layachi, Azzedine Makhlouf, Hamid Satha & Ahmed Belaadi

  3. Université Abbès Laghrour, 40000, Khenchela, Algeria

    Azzedine Makhlouf

  4. Université du 8 Mai 1945, 24000, Guelma, Algeria

    Djamel Frihi

  5. Université du 20 aout 1955, 21000, Skikda, Algeria

    Ahmed Belaadi

  6. MATEIS, UMR CNRS 5510, INSA de Lyon, Bât. Blaise Pascal, 69621, Villeurbanne, France

    Roland Seguela

  7. Univ Lyon, Campus LyonTech - La Doua, 69621, Villeurbanne, France

    Roland Seguela

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  1. Abdelheq Layachi
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  2. Azzedine Makhlouf
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Correspondence to Abdelheq Layachi or Hamid Satha.

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Layachi, A., Makhlouf, A., Frihi, D. et al. Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics and nucleation behavior of isotactic polypropylene composites with micro-talc. J Therm Anal Calorim 138, 1081–1095 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-019-08262-0

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