In this work, the phase transformational toughening of polypropylene (PP) was studied for two commercially-available β-phase nucleating agents, i.e. a quinacridone-type nucleating agent, and calcium carbonate-pimelic acid. Their efficacy for toughening was evaluated for two different PPs, one toughened with an elastomer and the other as is, or unmodified. Tensile and impact properties were determined, and correlated with β-phase content in the PP. It was demonstrated that PP, both with and without impact modifier, can be toughened using the phase transformation method. However, the effect of the β-phase nucleating agents was significantly enhanced when the elastomer was present in the PP. Further, the variation in elastic modulus across the sample thickness, likely due to the uneven cooling rates between the surface and the core, was measured and a clear correlation between nano-hardness and β- phase content was observed.
History
Event
7th Asian-Australasian Conference on Composite Materials (ACCM-7)
Volume
1
Pagination
281 - 284
Publisher
[Curran]
Location
Taipei, Taiwan
Place of publication
[ Red Hook, N.Y.]
Start date
2010-11-15
End date
2010-11-18
ISBN-13
9781632660756
Publication classification
EN.1 Other conference paper
Title of proceedings
7th Asian-Australasian Conference on Composite Materials 2010, ACCM 2010