Title: The effect of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes supported alpha-nucleating agent on the properties of isotactic polypropylene

Biography:

Xian Zhang is engaged in the application of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes. She had completed her Bachelor degree from Qingdao University of science and technology when she was 21 years old. In 2017, she entered East University of science and technology, China to study for a doctoral degree.

Abstract

In this paper, the nucleating agents supported on the surface of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) were prepared and their effects on the properties of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) were investigated. The reduced sizes of alpha-nucleating agent (NA-40) were proved using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The nucleating efficiency of NA-40 was investigated via analysing the mechanical properties and crystallization behaviour of polypropylene. It is found that the flexural modulus of iPP increases by 11.6 % with the addition of 0.04 wt. % NA-40 alone and increases by 23.3 % when the same content of NA-40 support on octa methyl silsesquioxane (OMS). Especially, using OMS as the support will not determine the optical properties of polypropylene because of the compatibility between OMS and iPP. Moreover, due to the existence of OMS, the toughness of the system will not decrease compared to add with NA-40 alone. The results of investigation showed that the supported α-nucleating agent prepared by supporting NA-40 on OMS exhibited higher nucleation ability compared to commercial NA-40 powder.