Polymer Bulletin, Vol.65, No.6, 623-634, 2010
Tensile properties of random copolymers of propylene with ethylene and 1-butene: effect of crystallinity and crystal habit
The tensile modulus of elasticity and yield strength of semicrystalline random copolymers of propylene with different amount on ethylene or 1-butene co-units were analyzed as a function of the crystallinity and the crystal habit/shape. Samples were prepared by cooling the melt to ambient temperature, and subsequent annealing at elevated temperature. Variation of the cooling rate between 10(-1) and 10(3) K s(-1) and of the temperature of annealing allowed preparation of semicrystalline specimens with either lamellar or non-lamellar crystals of different size, and with different crystallinity between about 30 and 70%. Young's modulus and yield strength increase with increasing crystallinity and consistently are lower for samples containing nodular, that is, almost isometric, non-lamellar crystals of low aspect ratio. For samples of identical crystallinity and crystal habit, an only minor effect of presence of co-units in the crystalline and amorphous phases is observed.
Keywords:Isotactic polypropylene;Random copolymers;Young's modulus;Yield strength;Crystallinity;Crystal habit