The pore formation mechanism of β-crystalline polypropylene under stretching was investigated. The porosity of the samples increases rapidly with stretching, having a maximum at draw ratios around 2 and then decreases monotonically. An abrupt formation process of initial micropores at very low draw ratios was evidenced by in situ SAXS measurements. At the same time the phase transition from β-crystal to α-crystal proceeds slowly in the whole deformation process up to large draw ratios around 5. Comparative studies of α-and β-crystalline polypropylene samples before stretching indicate that in addition to difference in crystal forms the α-and β-crystalline polypropylene samples exhibit quite different morphological features. There are a lot of interfaces in β-crystalline polypropylene samples, which may have a lower density value and can be easily etched by argon ions and penetrated by small molecules. It was concluded from these experimental facts that the pore formation and crystal transition are two independent phenomena during the deformation of β-crystalline polypropylene samples, and phase transition from β-crystal to α-crystal could hardly be the origin of pore formation. A defect initiation mechanism was proposed to understand the pore formation behavior of β-crystalline polypropylenes.
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