Modification of biaxially oriented polypropylene films using dicyclopentadiene based hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin

Abstract

The morphologies, crystalline structures, and thermal and rheological behaviors of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blended with dicyclopentadiene based hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin (HCR) were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), wide-angle X-ray diffractometry, and differential scanning calorimetry in detail. Furthermore, the transparency, mechanical properties, and water vapor and oxygen permeability of biaxially oriented polypropylene films, fabricated from these iPP/HCR blends using a biaxial drawing machine, were examined. It was found that crystallinity varies with the HCR content of the iPP/HCR blend. In addition, amorphous HCR with its high glass transition temperature (T-g) upon blending with iPP's amorphous structure affords improvements in various film properties, such as mechanical properties, transparency, and gas permeabilities.