The effect of microcrystalline cellulose on poly(propylene) crystallization. An investigation of nonisothermal crystallization kinetics

This work investigated the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of melt extruded polypropylene (PP) and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) compounds with MMC content at 1 and 3%. Pseudo-Avrami and Mo models successfully described the nonisothermal crystallization whereas Ozawa model failed. According to Pseudo-Avrami and Mo plots linearity deviations were observed only in the beginning and in the end of crystallization, probably due to the nucleation and spherulite impingement during secondary crystallization, respectively. The uncertainty of the models was evaluated as a function of the relative crystallinity, which allows the well establishment of the whole crystallization avoiding unexpected continuous crystallization that could change the product properties.