Pure PPC Research Articles

Compatibilization by Homopolymer: Significant Improvements in the Modulus and Tensile Strength of PPC/PMMA Blends by the Addition of a Small Amount of PVAc

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), a polymer produced from CO2, has been melt-mixed with 30 wt % poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with the aim of enhancing the physical properties of PPC for practical use but keeping a relatively high CO2 fixing rate in the compound. The observation of a coarse phase structure with a large PMMA domain size and a large size distribution in the blend indicates the immiscibility between PPC and PMMA. The addition of a small amount of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) not only shifts the glass transition temperatures (T(g)'s) of both PPC and PMMA markedly but also significantly increases the modulus and tensile strength of the blend. The prepared compound with 5 per hundred parts of resin PVAc shows a 26 times higher elastic modulus and an approximately 3.8 times higher tensile strength than pure PPC at room temperature. The morphological investigation indicates that the incorporation to PVAC not only induces the finer dispersion of PMMA in the PPC matrix but also results in the phase transformation from a sea-island to a co-continuous structure.

Improving thermal stability of biodegradable aliphatic polycarbonate by metal ion coordination

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), a typical aliphatic polycarbonate, has attracted much attention during the last two decades due to its biodegradability and commercializing perspective. However, the application of this material as thermoplastics has been limited by its poor thermal stability. Metal soaps, such as calcium stearate (CaSt 2), are important processing additives in plastics industry. In the present work, PPC–CaSt 2 complexes were prepared, the thermal stability of which was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the complexes are more thermal stable than pure PPC material. Supramolecular lamellar mesomorphous structures of the complexes were corroborated by the combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). Metal ion coordination of CaSt 2 to flexible PPC chains was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). This coordination interaction plays the key role in improving the thermal property of PPC and constructing the self-organized structure of the complexes.

Thermally stable aliphatic polycarbonate containing bulky carbazole pendants

AbstractTo improve the thermal and mechanical properties of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), the terpolymers were synthesized by the terpolymerization of CO2 with PO and a third monomer, N‐(2,3‐epoxylpropyl)carbazole (NEC) using supported zinc glutarate as catalyst. The catalytic activity, molecular weight, carbonate unit content, as well as the thermal and mechanical properties were investigated extensively. The experimental results showed that the catalytic activity, molecular weight, and carbonate unit content decreased with the incorporation of NEC. The introduction of NEC increased the glass transition temperature from 38.0 to 44.1°C. Moreover, the thermal decomposition temperature (Tg‐5%) of the terpolymer (278°C) was much higher than that of pure PPC (238°C). Accordingly, the mechanical properties proved to be enhanced greatly as evidenced by tensile tests due to the incorporation of bulky carbazole moieties. These improvements in thermal and mechanical properties are of very importance for the process of PPC. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008

Thermally stable poly(propylene carbonate) synthesized by copolymerizing with bulky naphthalene containing monomer

AbstractTo enhance the thermal and mechanical properties of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC), the terpolymers were synthesized from carbon dioxide, propylene oxide, and a third monomer, [(2‐naphthyloxy)methyl]oxirane (NMO) using supported zinc glutarate as catalyst. The structure of these terpolymers was confirmed by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The catalytic activity, molecular weight, carbonate unit content, as well as thermal and mechanical properties were investigated extensively. The experimental results showed that the catalytic activity, molecular weight, and carbonate unit content decreased with the incorporation of NMO. DSC measurements indicated that the introduction of NMO increased the glass transition temperature from 38 to 42°C. TGA tests revealed that the thermal decomposition temperature (Tg−5%) of the synthesized terpolymer increased significantly, being 34°C higher than that of pure PPC. Accordingly, the mechanical properties proved also to be enhanced greatly as evidenced by tensile tests. These thermal and mechanical improvements are of importance for the practical process and application of PPC. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008

Preparation and characterization of poly(propylene carbonate)/montmorillonite nanocomposites by solution intercalation

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) is a new biodegradable aliphatic polycarbonate. However, the poor thermal stability and low glass transition temperatures ( T g) have limited its applications. To improve the thermal properties of PPC, organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) was mixed with PPC by a solution intercalation method to produce nanocomposites. An intercalated-and-flocculated structure of PPC/OMMT nanocomposites was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal and mechanical properties of PPC/OMMT nanocomposites were investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), and electronic tensile tester. Due to the nanometer-sized dispersion of layered silicate in polymer matrix, PPC/OMMT nanocomposites exhibit improved thermal and mechanical properties than pure PPC. When the OMMT content is 4 wt%, the PPC/OMMT nanocomposite shows the best thermal and mechanical properties. These results indicate that nanocomposition is an efficient and convenient method to improve the properties of PPC.

Electron-beam irradiation on poly(propylene carbonate) in the presence of polyfunctional monomers

Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) showed predominantly degradation under electron-beam irradiation, accompanied by deterioration of its mechanical performance due to sharp decrease of the molecular weight. Crosslinked PPC was prepared by addition of polyfunctional monomer (PFM) to enhance the mechanical performance of PPC. When 8 wt% of PFM like triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC) was added, crosslinked PPC with a gel fraction of 60.7% was prepared at 50 kGy irradiation dose, which showed a tensile strength at 20 °C of 45.5 MPa, whereas it was only 38.5 MPa for pure PPC. The onset degradation temperature ( T i) and glass transition temperature ( T g) of this crosslinked PPC was 246 °C and 45 °C, respectively, a significant increase related to pure PPC of 211 °C and 36 °C. Therefore, thermal and mechanical performances of PPC could be improved via electron-beam irradiation in the presence of suitable PFM.

MISCIBILITY, CRYSTALLIZATION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF PPC/PBS BLENDS

In this paper, melt blends of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) with poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) were characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile testing, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), polarized optical microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicated that the glass transition temperature of PPC in the 90/10 PPC/PBS blend was decreased by about 11 K comparing with that of pure PPC. The presence of 10% PBS was partially miscible with PPC. The 90/10 PPC/PBS blend had better impact and tensile strength than those of the other PPC/PBS blends. The glass transition temperature of PPC in the 80/20, 70/30, and 60/40 PPC/PBS blends was improved by about 4.9 K, 4.2 K, and 13 K comparing with that of pure PPC, respectively; which indicated the immiscibility between PPC and PBS. The DSC results indicated that the crystallization of PBS became more difficult when the PPC content increased. The matrix of PPC hindered the crystallization process of PBS. While the content of PBS was above 20%, significant crystallization-induced phase separation was observed by polarized optical microscopy. It was found from the WAXD analysis that the crystal structure of PBS did not change, and the degree of crystallinity increased with increasing PBS content in the PPC/PBS blends.

Preparation of poly(propylene carbonate)/organophilic rectorite nanocomposites via direct melt intercalation

The completely degradable nanocomposites comprised of poly(propylene carbonate)(PPC) and organo-modified rectorite (OREC) were prepared by direct melt intercalation. The structure and mechanical properties of PPC/OREC nanocomposites were investigated. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) results show that the galleries distance of OREC is increased after PPC and OREC melt intercalation, which indicates that PPC molecular chain has intercalated into the layers of OREC. The PPC/OREC nanocomposites with lower OREC content show an increase in thermal decomposition temperature compared with pure PPC. The tensile strength and impact strength of PPC/OREC nanocomposites are improved. When the mass fraction of OREC is 4%, the tensile strength and impact strength of the PPC/OREC nanocomposite increase by 22.86% and 48.58% respectively, compared with pure PPC.

Compatibility characterization of poly(lactic acid)/poly(propylene carbonate) blends

AbstractThe compatibility of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) blends was investigated with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and tensile testing. The PLA/PPC blends were prepared over the whole composition range. FTIR spectroscopy revealed that there were several specific interactions between the chains of PLA and PPC: the interaction between CH and OC and CO···OC or CO···OC dipole–dipole interactions. Moreover, PLA and PPC were compatible. DSC indicated that PLA and PPC were partially miscible but compatible to some extent because of the similar chemical natures of the blend components. TGA showed that the compatibility of PLA and PPC enhanced the thermal stability of PPC in the blends. As calculated by the Horowitz–Metzger equation, the activation energy for decomposition (Et) of PPC in PLA/PPC (70/30) was 200.6 kJ/mol, whereas Et of pure PPC was only 56.0 kJ/mol. A study of the mechanical properties versus the composition and the strain versus the stress illustrated that there was good compatibility between PLA and PPC, and the phase inversion of the PLA/PPC system occurred between 70 and 60 wt % PLA in the PLA/PPC blends. The Pukanszky model gave credit to very strong interfacial adhesion between PLA and PPC. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 94–101, 2006

Structural characterization and thermal and mechanical properties of poly(propylene carbonate)/MgAl-LDH exfoliation nanocomposite via solution intercalation

Poly(propylene carbonate)/MgAl layered double hydroxide (PPC/MgAl-LDH) exfoliated nanocomposites were synthesized by solution intercalation of PPC into the galleries of organic modified MgAl-LDH (OMgAl-LDH) in cyclohexanone. The crystal morphological structures, thermal degradation behavior, and mechanical properties have been studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The nanoscale dispersion of OMgAl-LDH layers in the PPC matrix has been verified by the disappearance of d 0 0 1 XRD diffraction peak of OMgAl-LDH and the observation of TEM image. The TGA data give evince that the thermal degradation temperature of the exfoliated PPC/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites with 1% OMgAl-LDH is 10 °C higher than that of pure PPC resin when 20% weight loss was selected as a point of comparison. The data from the mechanical test show that the tensile strength of the PPC/MgAl-LDH nanocomposites with 5% LDH is 36.9 MPa, which is 72% and 30% higher than those of pure PPC resin and simple mixed sample with the same content of LDH, and its Young’s modulus is 1303 MPa, which is 57% and 21% higher than those of the same two samples, respectively.

Biodegradable poly(propylene carbonate)/montmorillonite nanocomposites prepared by direct melt intercalation

Intercalation-exfoliated nanocomposites derived from poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) were prepared by direct melt blending in an internal mixer. The nano-scale dispersion of the OMMT layers within the PPC matrix was verified using wide angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy technologies. Static mechanical properties were determined by using a tensile tester. The PPC/OMMT nanocomposites with lower OMMT content showed an increase in thermal decomposition temperature when compared with both pure PPC and the composites prepared from un-modified MMT. Dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that nano-scale OMMT dispersed well within PPC matrix and therefore enhanced the storage modulus of the composites.

FTIR study of poly(propylene carbonate)/bisphenol A blends

AbstractA systematic investigation by FTIR spectroscopy was undertaken on blends of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and bisphenol A (BPA). It provided direct evidence of the hydrogen bond (H‐bond) between BPA OH groups and PPC CO groups. Using a curve‐fitting method, qualitative as well as quantitative information concerning this H‐bond interaction was obtained. The inter‐H‐bond in PPC/BPA blends was weaker than the self‐H‐bond in BPA. The absorptivities of the free and the H‐bonded CO groups were nearly equal. The fraction of H‐bonded CO in the blends increased with BPA content and leveled off at a value close to 40 %. Finally, FTIR–temperature measurements of pure PPC and a representative blend were reported: by monitoring the peak areas of CO absorptions, the dissociation of the inter‐H‐bonds and the thermal degradation of PPC were observed. It revealed that the presence of BPA clearly retarded the thermal degradation of PPC. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry