Structure-Properties of a High-Flow and Super-Ductile Polypropylene

A super-ductile polypropylene (PP) with extremely high fluidity was pproduced by melt blending PP with a small amount of phenol resin and organic peroxide (both, less than 1 wt%) at 200°C in an extruder. This new material does not suffer from the usual trade-off between the fluidity and the ductility of plastics. Infrared spectroscopy showed that the phenol was grafted into the PP. Differential calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray diffraction scattering analysis showed that there is neither a difference in crystal unit cell structure nor in the melting point between neat PP and phenol-grafted PP. Small-angle X-ray scattering and Hv-light scattering studies showed that in the phenol-grafted PP the crystal lamella arrangement is rather disordered and highly disordered spherulites are formed. These results suggest a cross-hatched lamella structure well developed in the phenol-grafted PP. This high degree of cross-hatching may lead to the super-ductility.