Crystal structure of polypropylene filled with rare earth oxides

The effect of a fine powder of Y2O3, Nd2O3, and Ho2O3 on the crystal structure of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) was studied with WAXD and DSC techniques. The results showed that the addition of the three rare earth oxides (REOs) can increase the crystallite size of the alpha-form crystal and the degree of crystallinity of iPP at an annealing temperature of 120 degrees C and that both Y2O3 and Nd2O3 are the beta-nucleator of iPP. REOs enhance the overall growth rate of the spherulites of iPP. All the iPP samples filled with REOs which were crystallized isothermally at 132 degrees C from the melt exhibited their melting peaks of the beta-form on the DSC heating traces, indicating that the REOs are the nucleating agents for both the alpha- and beta-forms of iPP under isothermal conditions. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.