Effectively maintaining the disentangled state of isotactic polypropylene in the presence of graphene nanoplatelet

Abstract

Abstract Many research results show that the recovery of the disentangled state with reduced viscosity caused by shear-induced modification is rapid. Delaying or preventing the recovery of entanglements is important for polymer secondary processing. This work aimed to determine the effect of graphene nanoplatelet (GnP) on the recovery of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) entanglement. By applying shear treatment to the samples on a parallel-plate rotational rheometer, the viscosity is reduced to achieve a disentangled state. Rheological results show that after shear treatment, the disentangled state of iPP/GnP composites is maintained. Moreover, the disentangled state would accelerate the crystallization and form perfect crystals.