화학공학소재연구정보센터
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, Vol.57, No.20, 6870-6877, 2018
Concomitant Crystallization in Propylene/Ethylene Random Copolymer with Strong Flow at Elevated Temperatures
Flow-induced crystallization of alpha- and gamma-phases was studied for a propylene/ethylene random copolymer with 3.4 mol % ethylene at two high temperatures of 132 and 142 degrees C by combining a pressure-driven slit flow device with real-time synchrotron wide-angle X-ray diffraction. At 132 degrees C, it was found that both a- and gamma-phases were generated at shear stresses ranging from 0.091 to 0.110 MPa and that the gamma-phase always appeared later than the alpha-phase. However, for 142 degrees C and the same stresses, only the alpha-phase formed. Only upon cooling the partially crystallized copolymer did the gamma-phase emerge. The lack of gamma-crystals obtained at 142 degrees C is opposite to the behavior reported for quiescent crystallization under pressure, for which increasing temperature results in more and even pure ycrystals. In the current study, the absence of gamma-phase at 142 degrees C is tentatively associated with lack of epitaxial nucleation on alpha-lamellae and to relatively low growth rate of gamma-crystals.