Fracture resistance improvement of polypropylene by joint action of core–shell particles and nucleating agent

As a serial work about the fracture resistance improvement of polypropylene (PP), this work reports the joint effect of core–shell particles and nucleating agent (NA) on the microstructure and fracture resistance of PP. Core–shell particles were prepared through melt blending of ethylene-octene copolymer (POE) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Different NA, i.e. α-form NA (P-tert-butylbenzoic acid-Al, MD-NA-28) and β-form NA (aryl amides compound, TMB-5) were introduced into PP matrix to control the crystalline structure. The phase morphology of POE and the distribution of CaCO3 were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the crystallization behavior of PP matrix were investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and polarization optical microscope (POM). The mechanical properties were obtained through universal tensile measurement and notched Izod impact measurement. Surprisingly, the results show that through addition of so-called core–shell particles and NA simultaneously, the fracture resistance of PP can be dramatically improved.