Exclusion effect of carbon dioxide on the crystallization of polypropylene

We investigated the crystallization growth of isotactic polypropylene under carbon dioxide (CO2) at various CO2 pressures and temperatures by in situ observation with a digital high-fidelity microscope and a specially designed high-pressure visualized cell. The fibrils within the spherulite were distorted and branched by crystallization under CO2 at pressures higher than 2 MPa, and this suggested the exclusion of CO2 from the growth front of the fibrils. The spherulite growth rate (G) at 140degreesC increased with the CO2 pressure, attained a maximum value around 0.3 MPa, and then decreased. Above 6 MPa, it became slower than that under air at the ambient pressure. An analysis of the crystallization kinetics by the Hoffman-Lauritzen theory revealed that the pressure dependence of G could be ascribed to the change in the transportation rate of crystallizable molecules (beta(g)) with pressure; that is, beta(g) increased and then decreased with pressure. The increase in beta(g) at a low pressure was caused by the plasticizing effect of CO2 whereas the decrease in beta(g) at a high pressure was due to the exclusion of CO2 from the crystal growth front. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.