Probing polymer crystallization at processing-relevant cooling rates with synchrotron radiation
- University of Genoa, Dept. of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, Via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genoa (Italy)
- ESRF, Dubble CRG, Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO), 38043 Grenoble (France)
- Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Center of Engineering Sciences, D-06099 Halle/S. (Germany)
Processing of polymeric materials to produce any kind of goods, from films to complex objects, involves application of flow fields on the polymer melt, accompanied or followed by its rapid cooling. Typically, polymers solidify at cooling rates which span over a wide range, from a few to hundreds of °C/s. A novel method to probe polymer crystallization at processing-relevant cooling rates is proposed. Using a custom-built quenching device, thin polymer films are ballistically cooled from the melt at rates between approximately 10 and 200 °C/s. Thanks to highly brilliant synchrotron radiation and to state-of-the-art X-ray detectors, the crystallization process is followed in real-time, recording about 20 wide angle X-ray diffraction patterns per second while monitoring the instantaneous sample temperature. The method is applied to a series of industrially relevant polymers, such as isotactic polypropylene, its copolymers and virgin and nucleated polyamide-6. Their crystallization behaviour during rapid cooling is discussed, with particular attention to the occurrence of polymorphism, which deeply impact material’s properties.
- OSTI ID:
- 22494358
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1695, Issue 1; Conference: GT70 international conference on polymer processing with resulting morphology and properties: Feet in the present and eyes at the future, Salerno (Italy), 15-17 Oct 2015; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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