Polypropylene (PP)/Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) compounding to optimize physical properties

本项目的重点是分析典型脂肪族聚合物聚丙烯(PP)的物理性能，并通过化学添加剂对其进行定向改性。项目合作伙伴聚合物回收公司是一家生产回收用PP的公司。该公司是一家后工业塑料回收公司，在魁北克进行研发，生产尺寸较小的塑料作为成品。聚合物回收公司致力于提高其产品的韧性，使其在工业客户浇注时更能抵抗外力和变形。为此，该公司有兴趣更好地了解PP的韧性和导电性对质量的影响。对于这个项目，确定PP的韧性作为化学添加剂含量的函数是很重要的。聚合物回收公司提供的样品包含不同数量的各种热塑性弹性体(TPE)。该项目的第一个目标是确定优化PP韧性所需的PP中TPE的配方和重量百分比。第二个目标是探索TPE混合物对PP电导率的影响，提高TPE的电导率有望使该公司在其回收协议中受益。该项目所需的分析包括测试复合材料的韧性，分析它们的光电/电学性能，它们的流变性以及它们的相行为。该公司有韧性测试设备。康科迪亚大学提供了随添加剂含量变化表征流变学、光电和电学特性所需的免费设备。该项目的研究成果将对聚合物回收公司产品的质量改进具有一定的参考价值。

The present Engage project focuses on the analysis of the physical properties of the prototypical aliphatic polymer polypropylene (PP) and the directed modification thereof through chemical additives. The project partner Polymer Recycle Inc. is a company that manufactures PP for recycling. The company is a post-industrial plastic recycling company with R&D in Quebec and manufactures reduced-size plastics as finished products. Polymer Recycle Inc. strives to increase the toughness of its products to render them more resistant to the external force and deformation when they are casted by industrial customers.To that end, the company is interested in better understanding the influence of toughness and conductivity of PP on the quality. For this project, it is important to determine the toughness of PP as a function of the content of chemical additives. The samples provided by Polymer Recycle Inc. contain different amounts of various thermoplastic elastomers (TPE). The first goal of the project is determining which formulation and weight percentage of TPE in PP is required to optimize the toughness of PP. The second goal is exploring the impact of TPE admixture on the electrical bulk conductivity of PP, the increase of which is expected to be beneficial by the company in its recycling protocol.The analysis required for this project includes testing the toughness of the composites, analysing their opto-electronic/electrical properties, their rheology, as well as their phase behavior. The equipment for testing toughness is available at the company. The complimentary equipment required for characterizing rheological, opto-electronic, and electrical properties as a function of the additive content is available at Concordia University. The results of this project will be valuable for the quality improvement of the products of Polymer Recycle Inc.