Morphology, crystallization and melting behaviors of isotactic polypropylene/high density polyethylene blend: effect of the addition of short carbon fiber

The effect of vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) on the morphology, crystallization and melting behaviors of isotactic polypropylene (iPP)/high density polyethylene (HDPE) blend have been studied by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). It is found that the addition of VGCF results in a dramatic change in the morphology of iPP/HDPE blends. The crystallization peak temperature and melting point of iPP are not altered significantly by the blending. However, the degrees of crystallinity of iPP in the blends are reduced. Compared with the unfilled blends, the crystallization peak temperatures of iPP increase dramatically for the composites. The isothermal crystallization behavior of iPP is further investigated. The analysis of the crystallization half time shows that the crystallization rate of iPP is reduced by the presence of HDPE melt, and is enhanced by carbon fibers. For the unfilled blends in which iPP is the major component, the Avrami exponent closes to 3, independent of the HDPE content. However, for the composites, the Avrami exponent varies with the composition in a rather complex manner. An explanation based on heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation is supposed. The sharp changes in the crystallization and melting behaviors for the composites containing 30-35wt% HDPE correspond to the sudden change in the morphology of the two phases. It is supported by the observation of SEM and the electrical measurement. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers.