EFFECT OF FINAL HEATING TEMPERATURE ON CRYSTALLIZATION OF ISOTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE NUCLEATED WITH AN ARYL AMIDE DERIVATIVE AS If-FORM NUCLEATING AGENT

An aryl dicarboxylic acid amide compound TMB-5 is an efficient β-form nucleating agent for isotactic polypropylene （iPP）. Because of the solubility of TMB-5, superstructure and morphology of iPP crystals changed with melting conditions. Effects of final heating temperature （Tf） on heterogeneous nucleation of iPP/TMB-5 were investigated. It was discovered that the crystallization temperature increased with decreasing Tf value. The optical microscopic images indicated that when TMB-5 partially dissolved in iPP melt, the remaining （non-dissolved） TMB-5 facilitated the recrystallization of dissolved nucleating agent from the melt, which promoted crystallization. Complete solubility of nucleating agent caused the decreasing efficiency. TMB-5 recrystallized in the form of tiny needles, whose aggregates induced dendritic iPP crystals.