Czeslaw Slusarczyk

Investigations of the structures of styrene—zinc acrylate ionomers

Abstract X-ray and infrared (i.r.) spectroscopic investigations for styrene-zinc acrylate copolymers have been performed. Wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) curves exhibit a broad maximum at low angles, which indicates that ionic segments form multiplets. Using the standard theory for a two-phase system, mean sizes of multiplets have been calculated from small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data. It has been found that they are independent of ion content in copolymers, and the phase boundary between ionic aggregates and organic matrix is sharp. Infrared spectra of these copolymers exhibit an additional band in the asymmetric carboxylate stretching region. This band can be attributed to multiplets. A good agreement between X-ray and i.r. data indicates that the i.r. method is useful for investigation of ionomers.

Formation and properties of polypropylene/stearic acid composite fibers

This paper refers to the formation and properties of polypropylene/stearic acid (PP/SA) composite fibers. For the investigation, commercial metallocene-catalyzed PP polymer and SA were used. The fibers were produced in laboratory conditions using the single screw spin draw device. The textile-mechanical properties, surface composition, morphology and supermolecular structure of as-spun fibers were studied. Moreover, the nonisothermal crystallization of the PP/SA blend and melting behavior of fibers were analyzed. In the investigation Fourier transform infrared–attenuated total reflectance, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray analytical methods were used. The research showed that the PP/SA blend has lower viscosity compared to the pure polymer and that during the PP crystallization phase, separation is induced. SA delays crystallization of PP, and interaction between SA and PP is observed. The as-spun PP/SA fibers have higher linear density, higher elongation at break and slightly lower tenacity compared to fibers produced from pure PP. The fibers contain a structure with high content of mesophase. During fiber formation, SA migrates towards the fiber surface and forms droplets located beneath the surface of the fiber or crystallizes outside in the form of flake-like crystals.