Studies on the α and β forms of isotactic polypropylene by crystallization in a temperature gradient

Abstract

Samples of isotactic polypropylene (PP) were zone‐solidified in temperature gradients up to 300°C/cm at growth rates down to 3 μm/min. Oriented α‐type spherulites were obtained only by nucleation. While β nucleation is extremely rare, the β phase is easily initiated by growth transformations along the oriented α front. Since the β phase was found to grow considerably faster than the α phase, the α‐to‐β transformation points diverge across the sample, interrupting growth of the oriented α fibrils. This causes subsequent nucleation to yield teardrop‐shaped α spherulites. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies of zone‐solidified PP show the β‐phase to be favored by slow growth rates, high temperature gradients, and large degrees of superheat in the melt—all of which tend to suppress nucleation. Differential thermograms of largely β‐PP obtained at a heating rate of 1°C/min show the actual melting and recrystallization of the β spherulites into the α form.