Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of isotactic polypropylene nucleated with 1,3:2,4-bis(3,4-dimethylbenzylidene) sorbitol

Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) nucleated with 1,3:2,4-bis(3,4-dimethylbenzylidene) sorbitol (DMDBS) was studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The modified Avrami theory of Jeziorny and the Mo method were used to analyze the DSC data. The results suggested that the two methods were both suitable for crystallization kinetics of iPP nucleated with DMDBS. Half time of the crystallisation (t (1/2)) of virgin iPP was larger than that of nucleated iPP under the same cooling rate. Meanwhile, the required cooling rate of virgin iPP was higher than that of iPP nucleated with DMDBS in order to reach the same relative crystallinity, both of which showed that the addition of nucleating agent DMDBS could increase the crystallization rate of iPP. In addition, incorporation of DMDBS changed the manner of nucleation and development.