Optimization of the crystallinity of polypropylene/submicronic-talc composites: The role of filler ratio and cooling rate.
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Date
2016
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Abstract
Micronic and submicronic mineral fillers recently appeared as efficient reinforcing agents for polyolefins in
addition to the benefit of bypassing the exfoliation/dispersion problem encountered in the case of incorporation of
nanoscopic fillers such as clay. Submicronic-talc, designated as µ-talc, belongs to this kind of new fillers. This work was
aimed at searching to optimize the crystallinity ratio of isotactic polypropylene in the presence of µ-talc in relation to the
filler ratio of the composites and the cooling rate from the melt. In order to highlight the efficiency of the µ-talc on the crys-
tallization of polypropylene comparison has been made with PP composites containing conventional talc particles. The
study has been carried out on samples having µ-talc weight fractions covering the range 3–30%. In the context of optimiz-
ing the crystallinity ratio of the polypropylene matrix in the composites, calorimetric experiments have been planned using
a full factorial design. The results were statistically processed by analysis of the variance via mathematical models for pre-
dicting the crystallinity ratio in relation to the cooling rate and the filler ratio. Contour graphs have been plotted to deter-
mine the effect of each parameter on crystallinity. The cooling rate proved to have a significantly stronger influence on
crystallinity than the type and content of filler.
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