Effect of thermal treatment on the mechanical and viscoelastic response of polypropylenes incorporating a β nucleating agent

The influence of two thermal treatments on the structure, morphology, and ultimate properties exhibited by isotactic polypropylene (iPP), synthesized by conventional Ziegler–Natta iPP (Z-iPP) or metallocene iPP (m-iPP) catalysts, has been investigated in the present work. Novelty of this research consisted in the incorporation of a β nucleating agent in two different contents to the m-iPP. Results attained are compared with those found in the Z-iPP and important differences are observed. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction experiments revealed that coexistence of different crystalline lattices took place depending on the type of iPP: β and α forms were found in the β nucleated Z-iPP specimens, whereas α, β, and γ polymorphs could be developed in the m-iPP with nucleating agent. On the other hand, the iPP glass transition temperature (T) did not exhibit a significant change because of the addition of β nucleant, as deduced from Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) analysis. Moreover, the size and shape of the iPP spherulites was totally changed by the presence of the β agent. This nucleant promoted the formation of smaller spherulites in a greater amount, as demonstrated by optical microscopy. Concerning the mechanical parameters, microhardness, MH, and Young modulus, E, values were in the fast crystallized samples lower than those presented by their slowly cooled counterparts. A good balance in properties was seen for the slowly crystallized m-iPP that incorporated a 5 wt% content in β nucleating agent, this fact being ascribed to the coexistence of the three α, β, and γ polymorphs