Influence ofβ-nucleating Compound Agents on the Mechanical Properties and Crystallization Behavior of Polypropylene Random Copolymer

A novel polypropylene random(PPR)composite materials with optimized properties was developed by addingβ-nucleating compound agents(rare earth complex WBG-2 and aryl amide derivative TMB-5)and ternary compound modifier(TPE/WBG-2/CaCO_(3)).The effects of differentβ-nucleating agents and ternary compound modifier on the mechanical properties and crystallization behavior of PPR were analyzed.The results show that,compared with pure PPR materials,both WBG-2 and TMB-5 could significantly improve the impact strength of PPR.The crystallization temperature of PPR increased with the addition ofβ-nucleating agent.The modified PPR prepared with ternary compound modifier showed the most excellent comprehensive properties.

Effect of a Novel Nucleating Agent on Isothermal Crystallization of Poly（L-lactic acid）

The effect of a novel active nucleating agent(TBC8-eb) on the isothermal crystallization of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) was studied by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) . The analysis on kinetics demonstrates that TBC8-eb can not only accelerate the crystallization rate but also transform most of the original spherulite crystals of PLLA into sheaf-like crystals. Furthermore,the free energy of folding(σe) of PLLA and PLLA with TBC8-eb is 0.15 and 0.06 J·m-2,respectively,which suggests that the addition of TBC8-eb favors the regular folding of molecule chains in the crystallization of PLLA,improv-ing its crystallization rate. The FTIR results show that TBC8-eb can accelerate the conformational ordering of PLLA in the isothermal crystallization. The conformational ordering of PLLA nucleated with TBC8-eb begins with the interchain interaction of CH3,and then a short helix emerges where a couple of CH3 groups interact.

Effect of Nucleating Agents and Heat Treatments on the Crystallization of Magnesium Aluminosilicate Transparent Glass-ceramics

The crystallization behavior and transparent property of MgO-A1203-SiO2 （MAS） glasses with TiO2 and TiO2＋ZrO2 as nucleating agents were discussed by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, field emission-environment scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectrum and UV-VIS-NIR scanning spectrophotometer. It was found that the glass crystallized at 950 ℃ with ZrO2 less than 3% could obtain transparent glass ceramic, which presented purple to colorless. With the nucleating agent additives （5% TIO2＋3% ZrO2）, the colorless transparent glass-ceramics with spinel as the main crystal phase could be prepared, and the transmittance reached about 80%. As the crystallized temperature increase to 1 000 ℃, besides spinel（MgA1204）, sapphirine （Mg3.5A19Si1.5O20） and ZrTiO4 precipitated from matrix glass, and the transmitance of glass-ceramic decreased.

Effect of Nucleating Agent on the Crystallization of Tailings Glass Ceramics Prepared by One-time Sintering

Glass ceramics was made by the one-time sintering method using the main raw material of iron tailings. On the basis of quaternary system of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2, using DTA, XRD and SEM, the effects of different nucleating agents and mixing amounts as well as heat treatment on the crystallization of railings glass ceramics were studied. The experimental results show that, nucleating agent and heat treatment are two necessary conditions for one-time sintering preparation of tailings glass ceramics namely, only adding nucleating agent or experiencing heat treatment, the quaternary system can not crystallize. The composite nucleating agent consisting of Cr2O3 and TiO2 can further lead to the crystallization of the CaO-MgO-A1203-SiO2 quaternary system at the lower temperature, with the major phase of diopside. In the range of mass content, 0%-4%, crystal intensity and crystal content grow. But when mass content is more than 4%, the crystal size will become coarser and the crystal distribution will be less regular. Different heat treatment regimes do not change the composition of the crystalline major phase in the glass ceramics crystallization of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 system. In the range of 30-60 minutes, with the extension of nucleation and crystallization, crystallization degree enhanced, but if the holding time surpasses 60 minutes, the crystallization is worse.

Effects of Nucleating Agents on Crystallization of Arc-Molten Slag from Incinerator Fly Ash

Glass-ceramics obtained from the electric arc furnace molten slag of incinerator fly ash was produced by applying nucleation and crystallization through heat treatment process. The effects of nucleating agent （TiO2 and Cr2O3） on the crystallization kinetics and heat treatment schedule of the slag were investigated. The results show that the nucleating agents changed the crystallization phase and morphology of the obtained glass-ceramics. The optimum heat treatment schedule of the glass with TiO2 was determined as nucleation at 952 K for 1.5 h and crystal growth at 1 258 K for 1.5 h, while those values with Cr203 were estimated at 971 K for 2 h and at 1 238 K for 2 h. TiO2 acting as nucleating agent could decrease the activation energy of the slag and shorten the total thermal treatment time in comparison with Cr2O3. The glass-ceramics obtained under the optimum heat treatment condition was environmentfriendly and had remarkable physical/mechanical properties and chemical durability.

THERMODYNAMIC STUDY OF NUCLEATION PROPERTY OF NUCLEATING AGENT

It is deduced from thermodynamic relations and confirmed by experiment results that the nucleation rate and nucleation temperature of nucleating agents in the glass are dependent upon their melting entropy Delta S//m melting temperature T//m and crystal - type transition in terms of some mathematical expressions. (Author abstract) 10 Refs.

MELTING BEHAVIOR OF LOW ETHYLENE CONTENT POLYPROPYLENE COPOLYMERS WITH AND WITHOUT NUCLEATING AGENTS

The melting behavior of polypropylene (PP) and low ethylene content polypropylenecopolymer with and without nucleating agent samples crystallized under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions were studied by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) and X-raydiffraction. Multiple melting behavior were observed depending on the existence of nucleatingagent and crystallization conditions. The observed phenomena have been discussed by the effect ofnucleating agent on perfection of crystal and the melting and recrystallization of imperfect crystalto a more perfect crystal during the heating process of samples.

Influence of Nucleation Agents Concentration on Crystallization Structure and Properties of Glass-ceramics

Deep color glass-ceramics is prepared by using gold tailings as the main raw material, and Cr2O3 is added as nucleation agent. Influence of different Cr2O3 additions on crystallization structure and properties of CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics has been discussed so as to select optimum additions. DTA is employed to determine optimum crystallization and nucleation temperatures; XRD and SEM are used to characterize microstructure of each sample; and performance indexes, such as water absorption, bulk density, flexural strength and so on, are also determined. Experimental results show that when 3wt% Cr2O3 is introduced, fine glass-ceramics with diopside as the main crystal and Ca-Fe diopside as the second-crystal is obtained, and its corresponding performance indexes are as follows： water absorption 0.12%, bulk density 2.56 g/cm^3, and flexural strength 70.01 Mpa.

Effects of Nucleating Additives on Crystallization and Properties of CaO-B_2O_3-SiO_2 Glass-ceramics

ZrO2, TiO2 and P2O5 were doped in CaO-B2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics as nucleating additives. Effects of different nucleating additives on the phase separation and crystalline behaviors were investigated by using gradient temperature furnace, DTA and XRD. Then, sintering process of the glass-ceramics was investigated by testing sintering shrinkage, dielectric constant and loss. The experimental results shows that the glass-ceramics doped with nucleating additives represents higher crystallization, with ZrO2 as an exceptional effective dopant to promote the precipitation of wollastonite crystal. Finally, ZrO2 containing glass-ceramics was chosen to study the influence of sintering temperature and soaking time with the help of X-ray diffraction analysis and density measurement. The glass-ceramics can be well consolidated at 850 ℃ for 10 min, with low dielectric constant （5.87） and loss （3.21×10^-4）, which is desirable for LTCC application.

Preliminary Study on the Characteristics of Isotactic Polypropylene with Nucleating Agent Swollen by Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Impregnation of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) with nucleating agent (NA21) using supercritical carbon dioxide as the swelling agent at different temperature and pressure and its non-isothermal crystallization kinetics were investigated. The results showed that NA21 was dispersed at a nanometer-scale in the PP matrix, resulting in the formation of different typesof crystal phases of iPP and the enhancement of its mechanical properties.

Enhanced Crystallization of Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)by a Self-assembly Nucleating Agent

Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT)is a promising biodegradable flexible polymer but suffers from slow crystallization rate,making it less attractive for some applications like the injection-molded products in comparison with low-density polyethylene(LDPE).This work aimed to accelerate the crystallization of PBAT by adding a self-assembly nucleating agent octamethylenedicarboxylic dibenzoylhydrazide(OMBH).PBAT/OMBH composites with various OMBH contents(0 wt%,0.5 wt%,0.7 wt%,1 wt%,2 wt%,3 wt%and 5 wt%)were prepared through melt-mixing.The effect of OMBH on the crystallization behavior,morphologies and mechanical properties of PBAT was investigated.The highest nucleation efficiency value of 59.6%was achieved for PBAT with 0.7 wt%OMBH,much higher than that of 22.7%for PBAT with 0.7 wt%talc.Atomic force microscopy results showed that OMBH formed fine fibers and induced the formation of transcrystalline layers of PBAT.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)combined with two-dimensional correlation spectra suggested that the intermolecular dipole-dipole N—H…O=C interactions but not hydrogen bond between OMBH and PBAT promoted the crystallization of PBAT in the initial period of crystallization.The presence of OMBH did not change the crystal form of PBAT but had positive contribution in enhancing its crystallinity and mechanical properties.This work is essential for preparing PBAT with high crystallization rate,enhancing its potential applications in injection-molded products.

Polycrystalline ZSM-5 Aggregates Induced by Seed and Catalytic Performance in Methanol to Hydrocarbon

Synthesis of ZSM-5 zeolite typically utilizes small molecule polyamines or quaternary ammonium salts as organic structure guiding agent(OSDA).By contrast,the OSDA-free hydrothermal synthesis system eliminates the use of organic templates and the subsequent calcination procedure.This not only reduces the cost of synthesis,but also prevents environmental pollution from the combustion of organic templates,representing an eco-friendly approach.Despite this,literature suggests that even so-called template-free synthesis systems often involve trace amount of organic substances like alcohol.In the present work,a calcined commercial ZSM-5 zeolite was served as seed,with sodium aluminate as aluminum source and silica sol as silicon source,ensuring an entirely template-free synthesis system.Polycrystalline ZSM-5 aggregates consisted of rod-like nanocrystals were successfully prepared in the completely OSDA-free system.Effects of the Si/Al ratio in ZSM-5 seed,dosage and crystallization conditions such as crystallization temperature and crystallization time on ZSM-5 synthesis were investigated.The results show that a highly crystallinity ZSM-5 aggregate consisting of primary nano-sized crystals less than 100 nm is produced from a gel precursor with 5.6%(in mass)seed after hydrothermal treatment for 48 h.Furthermore,the Si/Al ratio in ZSM-5 seed has little effect on the topological structure and pore structure of the synthesized samples.However,the seeds with a low Si/Al ratio facilitate faster crystallization of zeolite and enhance the acidity,especially the strong acid centers,of the catalyst.The catalytic performance of the synthesized polycrystalline ZSM-5 was evaluated during dehydration of methanol and compared with a commercial reference ZSM-5r.The results exhibit that as compared with the reference catalyst,the fabricated sample has a longer catalytic lifetime(16 h vs 8 h)attributed to its hierarchical pores derived from the loosely packed primary nanoparticles.Additionally,the prepared polycrystalline catalyst also exhibits a higher aromatics selectivity(28.1%-29.8%vs 26.5%).

Influence of Nucleating Agent on the Formation of C_4A_3S

The reference test methods are carried out parallelly, by means of chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy and polarized optical microscope to study the formation of C4A3S in the presence and absence of nucleating agent. The results show that nucleating agent with high calcium and low heat consumption as tricalcium silicate （C3S） promotes the formation of C4A3S and increases desulfurization degree obviously. During calcining raw meals doped with C3S, the grain sizes of C4A3S are larger compared with that without C3S. And at the same calcining level, the mass loss and the heat consumption belonged to CaCO3 decomposition is reduced.

Lightweight,Strong and High Heat-Resistant Poly(lactide acid)Foams via Microcellular Injection Molding with Self-Assembly Nucleating Agent

Poly(lactide acid)(PLA)foams have shown considerable promise as eco-friendly alternatives to nondegradable plastic foams,such as polystyrene(PS)foams.Nevertheless,PLA foam typically suffers from low heat-resistance and poor cellular structure stemming from its inherent slow crystallization rate and low melt strength.In this study,a high-performance PLA foam with well-defined cell morphology,exceptional strength and enhanced heat-resistance was successfully fabricated via a core-back microcellular injection molding(MIM)process.Differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)results revealed that the added hydrazine-based nucleating agent(HNA)significantly increased the crystallization temperature and accelerated the crystallization process of PLA.Remarkably,the addition of a 1.5 wt%of HNA led to a significant reduction in PLA’s cell size,from 43.5µm to 2.87µm,and a remarkable increase in cell density,from 1.08×10^(7)cells/cm^(3)to 2.15×10^(10)cells/cm^(3).This enhancement resulted in a final crystallinity of approximately 55.7%for the PLA blend foam,a marked improvement compared to the pure PLA foam.Furthermore,at 1.5 wt%HNA concentration,the tensile strength and tensile toughness of PLA blend foams demonstrated remarkable improvements of 136%and 463%,respectively.Additionally,the Vicat softening temperature of PLA blend foam increased significantly to 134.8°C,whereas the pure PLA foam exhibited only about 59.7℃.These findings underscore the potential for the preparation of lightweight injection-molded PLA foam with enhanced toughness and heat-resistance,which offers a viable approach for the production of high-performance PLA foams suitable for large-scale applications.

Nucleation and crystallization of tailing-based glass-ceramics by microwave heating

The effect of microwave radiation on the nucleation and crystallization of tailing-based glass-ceramics was investigated using a 2.45 GHz multimode microwave cavity. Tailing-based glass samples were prepared fi＇om Shandong gold tailings and Guyang iron tailings utilizing a conventional glass melting technique. For comparison, the tailing-based glass samples were crystallized using two different heat-treatment methods： conventional heating and hybrid microwave heating. The nucleation and crystallization temperatures were determined by performing a differential thermal analysis of the quenched tailing-based glass. The prepared glass-ceramic samples were further characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, thermal expansion coefficient measurements, and scanning electron microscopy. The results demonstrated that hybrid microwave heating could be successfully used to crystallize the tailing-based glass, reduce the processing time, and decrease the crystallization temperature. Furthermore, the results indicated that the nucleation and crystallization mechanism of the hybrid microwave heating process slightly differs fi＇om that of the conventional heating process.

Crystal plasticity model to predict fatigue crack nucleation based on the phase transformation theory

A crystal plasticity model is developed to predict the fatigue crack nucleation of polycrystalline materials,in which the accumulated dislocation dipoles are considered to be the origin of damage.To describe the overall softening behavior under cyclic loading,a slip system-level dislocation density-related damage model is proposed and implemented in the finite element analysis with Voronoi tessellation.The numerical model is applied to calibrate the stress-strain relationship at different cycles before fatigue crack nucleation.The parameters determined from the numerical analysis are substituted into a modified phase transformation model to predict the critical fatigue crack nucleation cycle.Comparing with the experimental results of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu(SAC305)alloy and P91 steel,the proposed method can describe the constitutive behavior and predict the fatigue crack nucleation accurately.

EFFECTS OF COUPLING AGENTS ON THE CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOR OF PP/T-ZnOw COMPOSITES

The objectives of this paper are to understand the crystallization behavior of polypropylene （PP） composites with surface modified tetra-needle-shaped zinc oxide whisker （T-ZnOw）. T-ZnOw was surface modified with different coupling agents, such as silane coupling agents （KH-550, KH-560） and titanate coupling agent （NDZ-105）, in order to improve the compatibility between PP and T-ZnOw. DSC and POM were used to characterize the melt and crystallization behavior and the crystalline structures of the composites, respectively. The results show that the surface modified T-ZnOw acts as a nucleating agent of PP crystallization, depending on the coupling agent used for modification. KH-550 and KH-560 have more apparent role in improving the interfacial interaction than NDZ-105 and induce PP crystallization at higher temperature and with smaller spherulites size. The results also suggest that the crystallization behavior depends on not only the content of coupling agent, but also the content of the surface modified T-ZnOw used in the composites.

Ultrasound assisted crystallization of cephalexin monohydrate:Nucleation mechanism and crystal habit control

With the high-quality requirements for cephalexin monohydrate,developing a robust and practical crystallization process to produce cephalexin monohydrate with good crystal habit,appropriate aspect ratio and high bulk density as well as suitable flowability is urgently needed.This research has explored the influence of ultrasound on crystallization of cephalexin monohydrate in terms of nucleation mechanism and crystal habit control.The results of metastable zone width and induction time measurement showed the presence of ultrasound irradiation can narrow the metastable zone and shorten induction time.Cavitation phenomena generated by ultrasound were used to qualitatively explain the mechanism of ultrasound promoting nucleation of cephalexin monohydrate.Furthermore,on the basis of classical nucleation theory and induction time data,a series of nucleation-related parameters(such as crystalliquid interfacial tension,radius of the critical nucleus and etc.)were calculated and showed a decreasing trend under ultrasound irradiation.The diffusion coefficient of the studied system was also determined to increase by 72.73%under ultrasound.The changes in these parameters have quantitatively confirmed the mechanism of ultrasound influence on the nucleation process.In further,the calculated surface entropy factor has confirmed that the growth of cephalexin monohydrate follows continuous growth mechanism under the research conditions of this work.Through the exploration of crystallization conditions,it is found that suitable ultrasonic treatment,seeding,supersaturation control and removal of fine crystals are conducive to improving the quality of cephalexin monohydrate product.Optimizing the crystallization process coupled continuous ultrasound irradiation with fine-crystal dissolution policy has achieved the controllable production of monodisperse cephalexin monohydrate crystal with good performance.

Highly Reversible Zn Metal Anodes Enabled by Increased Nucleation Overpotential

Dendrite formation severely compromises further development of zinc ion batteries. Increasing the nucleation overpotential plays a crucial role in achieving uniform deposition of metal ions. However, this strategy has not yet attracted enough attention from researchers to our knowledge. Here, we propose that thermodynamic nucleation overpotential of Zn deposition can be boosted through complexing agent and select sodium L-tartrate(Na-L) as example. Theoretical and experimental characterization reveals L-tartrate anion can partially replace H_(2)O in the solvation sheath of Zn^(2+), increasing de-solvation energy. Concurrently, the Na^(+) could absorb on the surface of Zn anode preferentially to inhibit the deposition of Zn^(2+) aggregation. In consequence, the overpotential of Zn deposition could increase from 32.2 to 45.1 mV with the help of Na-L. The Zn-Zn cell could achieve a Zn utilization rate of 80% at areal capacity of 20 mAh cm^(-2). Zn-LiMn_(2)O_(4) full cell with Na-L additive delivers improved stability than that with blank electrolyte. This study also provides insight into the regulation of nucleation overpotential to achieve homogeneous Zn deposition.

NUCLEATION AND CRYSTALLIZATION OF H-SHAPED(PS)_2PEG(PS)_2 BLOCK COPOLYMERS

A series of H-shaped （PS）2PEG（PS）2 block copolymers with different PS chain lengths were prepared. The influence of different confinements active on the crystallization and self-nucleation （SN） behavior of the PEG blocks was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）. When the content of the crystalline block was high, a classical SN behavior was obtained. The block copolymer with PEG content of 49% （by weight） showed a classical SN behavior with a narrow self-nucleation domain and had bimodal crystallization exotherms. When the PEG dispersed as separated microdomains in the block copolymer, the self-nucleation domain disappeared and only annealing was observed.