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Presentation
A Solid-State Processing Approach to Enhance the Mechanical Performance of Polyolefins
Proceedings of the 2018 IISE Annual Conference
  • Sharon Lau, Iowa State University
  • Srikanthan Ramesh, Iowa State University
  • Iris V. Rivero, Iowa State University
  • LaShanda Korley, University of Delaware
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Conference Title
2018 IISE Annual Conference
Conference Date
May 19-22, 2018
Geolocation
(28.5383355, -81.37923649999999)
Abstract

This study aims to present and evaluate the use of solid-state processing for improving the mechanical properties of polyolefins. Isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) was selected to be studied due to its inferior mechanical properties in comparison to common plastics such as polyethylene (PET) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Recently, i-PP has garnered attention due to its attributes such as low-cost and recyclability. However, it requires additional processing to improve its mechanical performance. In this study, cryomilling was used to introduce various concentrations (0.2 - 1 wt. %) of diparamethyldibenzyldiene sorbitol (MDBS), as reinforcing agent, into the i-PP polymer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to characterize the structural and thermal characteristics of the generated blends. Compression molding was utilized to fabricate thin films, and subsequently subjected to tensile testing using a universal testing machine. Results from DSC indicate the ability of cryomilling to generate a homogenous blend by indicating an increase in the crystallization temperature. Moreover, results from the tensile tests showed an increase in tensile strength. The improvements in the mechanical properties of polyolefins with the addition of sorbitol-derivatives can be attributed to the reduction in the average spherulite size of the polymer.

Comments

This proceeding was published as Lau, Sharon, Srikanthan Ramesh, Iris V. Rivero, and LaShanda Korley. "A Solid-State Processing Approach to Enhance the Mechanical Performance of Polyolefins." In Proceedings of the 2018 IISE Annual Conference (K. Barker, D. Berry, C. Rainwater, eds.) (2018): 919-924. Posted with permission.

Copyright Owner
IISE
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Citation Information
Sharon Lau, Srikanthan Ramesh, Iris V. Rivero and LaShanda Korley. "A Solid-State Processing Approach to Enhance the Mechanical Performance of Polyolefins" Orlando, FLProceedings of the 2018 IISE Annual Conference (2018) p. 919 - 924
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sharon-lau/3/