Enhancement of drawdown force in polypropylene containing nucleating agent

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe effect of the nucleation efficiency of three commercial nucleating agents, such as 1,3:2,4‐bis(3,4‐dimethylbenzylidene)sorbitol (DMDBS), sodium 2,2′‐methylene‐bis‐(4,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenyl)phosphate (SMBP), and magnesium silicate (talc), on the melt‐stretching performance of isotactic polypropylene (PP) is studied. It is found that the addition of 0.5 wt % of a nucleating agent enhances the crystallization temperature and that effect is pronounced for DMDBS and SMBP. Furthermore, DMDBS is more efficient than the other tested nucleating agents in enhancing the drawdown force, defined as a force required for stretching a molten strand. Nanofibers of DMDBS, which show significant alignment in the flow direction, are responsible for the rapid crystallization of PP in the flow field leading to an increase of drawdown force. The stretched strand shows a highly oriented structure in which the α‐form crystals orient to the flow direction. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47295.