Thermal, mechanical, and rheological comparison of stereoblock flexible polypropylenes

For medical fluid delivery applications, clear materials with both low modulus and high temperature resistance are highly sought after. Many of the currently available materials are either optically opaque, or far too expensive to be suited for the majority of applications. The recently available stereoblock homo-polypropylene polymers, where atactic and isotactic sequences are placed on the main-chain, present an attractive opportunity. We have examined some of these commercial as well as experimental polymers by thermal analysis, rheology and mechanical analysis for their potential suitability in medical applications.