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

目前Engage项目的重点是分析原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Polymer Recycle Inc.是一家生产回收PP的公司。该公司是一家工业后塑料回收公司，在魁北克进行研发，并将缩小尺寸的塑料作为成品生产。聚合物回收公司为了提高产品的韧性，使其在工业客户铸造时更能抵抗外力和变形，公司努力提高产品的韧性。为此，公司有兴趣更好地了解PP的韧性和导电性对质量的影响。对于该项目，重要的是确定PP的韧性作为化学添加剂含量的函数。由Polymer Recycle Inc.含有不同量的各种热塑性弹性体（TPE）。该项目的第一个目标是确定PP中TPE的配方和重量百分比，以优化PP的韧性。第二个目标是探索TPE混合物对PP的体积电导率的影响，该公司预计其回收方案将有利于提高体积电导率。该项目所需的分析包括测试复合材料的韧性，分析其光电/电气性能，流变学以及相行为。这家公司有韧性测试设备.康考迪亚大学提供了表征流变学、光电和电学特性随添加剂含量变化的免费设备。本课题的研究成果对聚合物回收公司产品质量的提高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.