The effect of pigments on the crystallization and properties of polypropylene

Abstract The effect of pigments of different chemical compositions on the crystellization process of PP was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry in isothermal mode. The Avrami equation was applied to obtain the crystallization parameters of polypropylene with different pigments. Lipatov's equations were applied for evaluation of the thickness and volume content of the transition layers. Results show that pigments affect not only the degree of crystallinity but also the structure of the amorphous phase and the integrity of the crystalline/amorphous interphase. Finally, the morphology and mechanical properties of pigmented polypropylene were studied in view of the different chemical compositions of the various pigments.