Preparation of High Homogeneity Polypropylene/Carbon Black Films and Quantitative Characterization on Carbon Black Dispersion

KeyWord:polypropylene  carbon black  quantitative  SEM  OM  Image J  dispersion  distribution

Abstract:

      In this paper£¬two polypropylene£¨PP£©/carbon black£¨CB£© films containing 2.2% and 3.3% of carbon black£¨CB£© contents were prepared by melt blending-masterbatch dilution method assisted with high efficiency dynamic mixer.Based on scanning electron microscopy£¨SEM£© and optical microscopy£¨OM£© images£¬the image analysis software£¬Image J£¬was firstly used to quantitatively characterize the dispersion and distribution of CB particles.The results of SEM analysis showed that the average area of CB particles was 0ª±220 ¦Ìm2 and the area distribution strictly conforms to exponent decay distribution.The results of OM analysis indicated that a small amount of CB agglomerates appeared when the CB content reached up to 3.3%.The dispersion index£¨D£© of films with 2.2% and 3.3% of CB were 0.75 and 0.5£¬respectively£¬which indicated that high CB content was not conducive to CB dispersion.Furthermore£¬the average area of particles£¨0.209 ¦Ìm2£© in film with low CB content was less than that£¨0.220 ¦Ìm2£© in film with high CB content.However£¬their area distributions showed a great similarity and they both conformed to exponent decay distribution strictly.The results of OM were consistent with that of SEM.The image analysis software£¬Image J£¬can convert qualitative information into quantitative information and characterize comprehensively the dispersion of CB particles in polymeric matrix by combination with the dispersion indexes.