Annealing of commercial block polypropylene. I. Thermal and physical properties

Investigations were carried out regarding the effect of annealing of ethylene–propylene block copolymer (block PP) moldings on their tensile impact strength (TIS), brittle temperature (Tb), and other mechanical properties. Annealing near the melting point improves TIS and Tb as the result of recrystallization. With a system in which a minute amount of talc is added as a nucleating agent, the degree of improving TIS through annealing is considerably less than that with a nonnucleated system. The effect of annealing on the impact strength is due to changes of fine texture and morphology of crystallites and is explicable by recrystallization and polymer diffusion. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.