Determination of mass fractions in polypropylene/polyethylene blends using fast scanning calorimetry

Abstract

AbstractFast scanning calorimetry (FSC) enables rapid sample cooling from the melt at rates of several thousand Kelvin per second. A perfect amorphous state for polypropylene (PP) can be achieved by fast cooling at rates of 5000 K s−1. In comparison, polyethylene (PE) crystallizes during cooling, even at cooling rates accessible with FSC. Thus, in this study, a novel method was proposed for determining the PP/PE mixing ratio with a standard deviation of 1.4 mass% that combines FSC and differential scanning calorimetry. The proposed method considers the above thermal behavior of the components of polyolefin blends. In addition, the proposed method is expected to provide a convenient way to analyze the composition of recycled polyolefins from the market or industrial processes without the need for high‐temperature solvents that are typically used in nuclear magnetic resonance or for calibration curves in Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry.