Structural changes of modified polypropylene with thermoplastic elastomers for medical devices applications

AbstractPoly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is one of the most used materials with applications in the medical field. One approach to replace the phthalate plasticizers from PVC is to use other thermoplastic polymers having the same characteristics and performances as plasticized PVC. Modification of random polypropylene (PPR) by melt mixing technique with different thermoplastic elastomers: (poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] (SEBS) and poly(styrene-b-butadiene-b-styrene) (SBS) at various content ratios was investigation. The obtained blends were characterized by the determination of the elastomer content influence on density, crystallinity index, melting temperature, degree of crystallinity, crystallite size, and phase morphology. The results showed that the melting temperature of PPR/SBS blends was significantly lower than that of PPR/SEBS blends. Addition of SEBS or SBS to PPR had different effect on crystallite sizes and morphology of blends, and the same effect on decrease the degree of crystal...