Influence of TiO2nanoparticles on nonisothermal crystallization of PP in a wide range of cooling rates analyzed by fast scanning DSC

The influence of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on the crystallization behavior of polypropylene was investigated by conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and fast scanning DSC measurements. The data obtained from both methods were estimated for the first time using the Lauritzen-Hoffmann equation to analyze the behavior over a wide cooling range under nonisothermal conditions. This provides more reliable values of nucleation parameters (Kg) and surface free energy (σe). The variation of the effective energy (ΔE) was determined with the Kissinger method. Regardless of the cooling rate, both Kgand σeindicate the role of titania as a nucleating agent enhances the crystallization rate. However, the ΔE denotes that TiO2acts as an obstacle to the mobility of chain segments at cooling rates below 150 °C/s, while, in contrast, the presence of titania enhances the chain mobility at cooling rates above 150 °C/s.