Improved Processing and Dimensional control of Polypropylene through high Performance Nucleation

摘要

In the last several years, polyolefins have become the material of choice for a broad range of products that are used on a day to day basis. The performance requirements in the specific applications such as storage and food containers, bottles, cups, furniture, and automotive parts can be diametrically different, but what is common in all these applications is the need for a superior part quality and improved productivity. Molders of polypropylene are frequently confronted with performance variations in parts of different colors mainly because organic pigments often act as strong nucleating agents of polypropylene. Due to various nucleation effects like increased crystallization temperature, anisotropic shrinkage, etc. the setting of the machines in the production plants need to be continuously adjusted to the special needs of each individual colored resin. Moreover, the stiffness/impact balance of the final articles may vary as well depending on the color used, leading to inconsistencies in the part qualities. In our presentation, we will explore the use of commercial nucleating agents to reduce or eliminate the problems caused by the varying nucleation effects of different pigments used in industry.