CONCURRENT CRYSTALLIZATION IN POLYPROPYLENE NYLON-6 BLENDS USING MALEIC-ANHYDRIDE GRAFTED POLYPROPYLENE AS A COMPATIBILIZING AGENT

This paper describes the nonisothermal crystallization of molten blends of two semicrystalline polymers, polypropylene (PP) and Nylon-6 (N6). A discussion details the effect of the concentration of the compatibilizing agent, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAH-g-PP), on the crystallization behavior. The crystallization thermograms showed one crystallization peak or two crystallization peaks, which were significantly affected by the presence of MAH-g-PP. The crystallization temperature of N6 levels off down as the concentration of MAH-g-PP increases, whereas that of PP stays at a roughly constant temperature. These blends containing the compatibilizing agent exhibited concurrent crystallization at the crystallization temperature of PP. The crystallization behavior are also studied by optical microscopy under crossed polarizers. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.