Formation of microporous membrane of isotactic polypropylene in dibutyl phthalate-soybean oil via thermally induced phase separation

Isotactic polypropylene (iPP) microporous membranes were prepared via the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) process with the diluents being dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and soybean oil mixture. By changing the weight ratio of DBP to soybean oil systematically, it was determined experimentally that the cloud-point curves were influenced to a great extent, while the crystallization curves showed much less dependence on the diluents composition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the resulting membrane morphologies changed significantly by varying the composition of the diluents, i.e., by changing the interaction parameter and other characteristics of diluents, the interwoven or celluar structure can be fabricated successfully at a fixed polymer concentration under the same cooling conditions. Different growth rates of iPP spherulite were obtained in the diluents with different composition. It is shown that the spherulites growth rates may be also attributed to the great variations of the final microporous morphology to a certain extent. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.