Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene

Abstract Supramolecular additives are an established class of nucleating agents to modify and control the solid‐state morphology of semi‐crystalline polymers, in particular isotactic polypropylene (iPP). A widely used reinforcement material for iPP is glass fibers (GFs), which significantly improve...

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Main Authors: Dennis Schröder, Jannik Thanner, Klaus Kreger, Hans‐Werner Schmidt
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley-VCH 2025-05-01
Series:Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.202400389
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author Dennis Schröder
Jannik Thanner
Klaus Kreger
Hans‐Werner Schmidt
author_facet Dennis Schröder
Jannik Thanner
Klaus Kreger
Hans‐Werner Schmidt
author_sort Dennis Schröder
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Supramolecular additives are an established class of nucleating agents to modify and control the solid‐state morphology of semi‐crystalline polymers, in particular isotactic polypropylene (iPP). A widely used reinforcement material for iPP is glass fibers (GFs), which significantly improve the mechanical properties. Here, these two types of materials are combined by creating defined hierarchical superstructures composed of glass microfiber nonwovens and supramolecular nanofibers based on selected 1,3,5‐benzetrisamides (BTA). The supramolecular nanofibers are prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD), a straightforward solvent‐free process. By systematically varying PVD process parameters, it is shown that supramolecular BTA nanofibers can be reproducibly prepared on flat substrates. The morphology of the supramolecular nanofibers can be controlled by substrate temperature, evaporation time, and evaporation rate. The use of GF nonwovens enables the fabrication of hierarchical superstructures with a bottlebrush morphology comprising supramolecular nanofibers of defined length. These hierarchical superstructures are capable of nucleating iPP and thus promote transcrystallization of the iPP from the decorated GFs surface, which ultimately improves the adhesion between the GFs and the iPP. Laminating decorated GF nonwovens between two iPP films clearly increases the mechanical properties of the composites in contrast to composites without nucleating agents.
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institution OA Journals
issn 1438-7492
1439-2054
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Wiley-VCH
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series Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-223edd386d6d4ddd8947aa88db5592872025-08-20T02:31:43ZengWiley-VCHMacromolecular Materials and Engineering1438-74921439-20542025-05-013105n/an/a10.1002/mame.202400389Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic PolypropyleneDennis Schröder0Jannik Thanner1Klaus Kreger2Hans‐Werner Schmidt3Macromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute University of Bayreuth 95447 Bayreuth GermanyInorganic Colloids for Electrochemical Energy storage University of Bayreuth 95447 Bayreuth GermanyMacromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute University of Bayreuth 95447 Bayreuth GermanyMacromolecular Chemistry I and Bavarian Polymer Institute University of Bayreuth 95447 Bayreuth GermanyAbstract Supramolecular additives are an established class of nucleating agents to modify and control the solid‐state morphology of semi‐crystalline polymers, in particular isotactic polypropylene (iPP). A widely used reinforcement material for iPP is glass fibers (GFs), which significantly improve the mechanical properties. Here, these two types of materials are combined by creating defined hierarchical superstructures composed of glass microfiber nonwovens and supramolecular nanofibers based on selected 1,3,5‐benzetrisamides (BTA). The supramolecular nanofibers are prepared by physical vapor deposition (PVD), a straightforward solvent‐free process. By systematically varying PVD process parameters, it is shown that supramolecular BTA nanofibers can be reproducibly prepared on flat substrates. The morphology of the supramolecular nanofibers can be controlled by substrate temperature, evaporation time, and evaporation rate. The use of GF nonwovens enables the fabrication of hierarchical superstructures with a bottlebrush morphology comprising supramolecular nanofibers of defined length. These hierarchical superstructures are capable of nucleating iPP and thus promote transcrystallization of the iPP from the decorated GFs surface, which ultimately improves the adhesion between the GFs and the iPP. Laminating decorated GF nonwovens between two iPP films clearly increases the mechanical properties of the composites in contrast to composites without nucleating agents.https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.2024003891, 3, 5‐benzenetrisamidesglass fiber compositesisotactic polypropylenephysical vapor depositionsupramolecular nanofiberssupramolecular nucleating agents
spellingShingle Dennis Schröder
Jannik Thanner
Klaus Kreger
Hans‐Werner Schmidt
Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene
Macromolecular Materials and Engineering
1, 3, 5‐benzenetrisamides
glass fiber composites
isotactic polypropylene
physical vapor deposition
supramolecular nanofibers
supramolecular nucleating agents
title Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene
title_full Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene
title_fullStr Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene
title_full_unstemmed Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene
title_short Hierarchical Glass Fiber Superstructures with Supramolecular Nanofibers for the Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene
title_sort hierarchical glass fiber superstructures with supramolecular nanofibers for the nucleation of isotactic polypropylene
topic 1, 3, 5‐benzenetrisamides
glass fiber composites
isotactic polypropylene
physical vapor deposition
supramolecular nanofibers
supramolecular nucleating agents
url https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.202400389
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