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Cell Structure Regulation of Polypropylene/Ethylene-Propylene Rubber Bead Foams and Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Their Molded Products.

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Title: Cell Structure Regulation of Polypropylene/Ethylene-Propylene Rubber Bead Foams and Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Their Molded Products.
Authors: Hu, Zi'ang1 (AUTHOR), Gao, Xiulu1 (AUTHOR), Chen, Yichong1 (AUTHOR), Wang, Jiacheng1 (AUTHOR), Zhao, Ling1 (AUTHOR), Hu, Dongdong1 (AUTHOR) hudd@ecust.edu.cn
Source: Polymers (20734360). Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p1540. 19p.
Subjects: Polypropylene, Ethylene-propylene rubber, Polymer melting, Mechanical behavior of materials, Crystallization, Molding materials, Porosity
Abstract: To improve the foamability and steam-chest molding performance of polypropylene (PP) bead foams, ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) was introduced into PP via melt blending. The role of EPR in the complete bead-foaming-to-molding process was systematically investigated by correlating phase morphology, crystallization behavior, melt viscoelasticity, CO2 dissolution and diffusion, cellular structure, inter-bead welding, and the mechanical properties of molded foam products. The incorporation of EPR refined the PP crystalline morphology, reduced the apparent crystallinity, and markedly enhanced the melt viscoelasticity, thereby broadening the foaming temperature window. The dispersed EPR phase functioned simultaneously as a CO2 reservoir and a high-diffusivity pathway of CO2, which promoted cell growth while suppressing excessive nucleation. The enhanced melt viscoelasticity and improved CO2 affinity promoted bead expansion and optimized the cellular structure. At 150 °C, the expansion ratio increased from 18.7 for neat PP to 21.1 with 10 wt% EPR. EPR also regulated the cellular structure. At 150 °C, the cell diameter increased from 83 to 176 μm as the EPR content increased from 0 to 20 wt%. EPR markedly changed the double-melting behavior of PP bead foams. The low-temperature melting enthalpy increased from 28.5 J/g for neat PP to 37.8 J/g with 10 wt% EPR, which served as an effective interfacial binder, significantly promoting inter-bead welding. Consequently, the optimized PP/EPR foam containing 10 wt% EPR exhibited a tensile strength of 1.13 MPa and an elongation at break of 22.1%. More importantly, excellent molding quality was achieved at a reduced steam pressure of 2.2 bar, demonstrating the great potential of PP/EPR bead foams for the energy-efficient manufacturing of high-performance lightweight products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Cell Structure Regulation of Polypropylene/Ethylene-Propylene Rubber Bead Foams and Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Their Molded Products.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Zi'ang%22">Hu, Zi'ang</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gao%2C+Xiulu%22">Gao, Xiulu</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chen%2C+Yichong%22">Chen, Yichong</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Jiacheng%22">Wang, Jiacheng</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhao%2C+Ling%22">Zhao, Ling</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Dongdong%22">Hu, Dongdong</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> hudd@ecust.edu.cn</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Polymers+%2820734360%29%22">Polymers (20734360)</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 18 Issue 12, p1540. 19p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polypropylene%22">Polypropylene</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethylene-propylene+rubber%22">Ethylene-propylene rubber</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polymer+melting%22">Polymer melting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mechanical+behavior+of+materials%22">Mechanical behavior of materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Crystallization%22">Crystallization</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Molding+materials%22">Molding materials</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Porosity%22">Porosity</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: To improve the foamability and steam-chest molding performance of polypropylene (PP) bead foams, ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) was introduced into PP via melt blending. The role of EPR in the complete bead-foaming-to-molding process was systematically investigated by correlating phase morphology, crystallization behavior, melt viscoelasticity, CO2 dissolution and diffusion, cellular structure, inter-bead welding, and the mechanical properties of molded foam products. The incorporation of EPR refined the PP crystalline morphology, reduced the apparent crystallinity, and markedly enhanced the melt viscoelasticity, thereby broadening the foaming temperature window. The dispersed EPR phase functioned simultaneously as a CO2 reservoir and a high-diffusivity pathway of CO2, which promoted cell growth while suppressing excessive nucleation. The enhanced melt viscoelasticity and improved CO2 affinity promoted bead expansion and optimized the cellular structure. At 150 °C, the expansion ratio increased from 18.7 for neat PP to 21.1 with 10 wt% EPR. EPR also regulated the cellular structure. At 150 °C, the cell diameter increased from 83 to 176 μm as the EPR content increased from 0 to 20 wt%. EPR markedly changed the double-melting behavior of PP bead foams. The low-temperature melting enthalpy increased from 28.5 J/g for neat PP to 37.8 J/g with 10 wt% EPR, which served as an effective interfacial binder, significantly promoting inter-bead welding. Consequently, the optimized PP/EPR foam containing 10 wt% EPR exhibited a tensile strength of 1.13 MPa and an elongation at break of 22.1%. More importantly, excellent molding quality was achieved at a reduced steam pressure of 2.2 bar, demonstrating the great potential of PP/EPR bead foams for the energy-efficient manufacturing of high-performance lightweight products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Polymers (20734360) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.3390/polym18121540
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        Text: English
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        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 1540
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      – SubjectFull: Polypropylene
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethylene-propylene rubber
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      – SubjectFull: Polymer melting
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      – SubjectFull: Mechanical behavior of materials
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      – SubjectFull: Crystallization
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      – SubjectFull: Molding materials
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Porosity
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Cell Structure Regulation of Polypropylene/Ethylene-Propylene Rubber Bead Foams and Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Their Molded Products.
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              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
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              Y: 2026
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