Effect of Ethylene Comonomer Content on the Foam Processing Window of Long-Chain Branched Polypropylene

The non-optimized foam processing window (FPW) can create processing challenges and limit the possible materials with which a polymer of interest can be processed in emerging foaming technologies. To address this drawback, we aim to investigate the effect of ethylene comonomer content on the foaming behavior of polypropylene (PP), particularly the FPW. Two PP resins containing 0.75 and 1.5 wt % of ethylene comonomers were studied, while using a PP homopolymer as a control. High-pressure differential scanning calorimetry confirmed the decrease in the onset crystallization (Tc-onset) and end melting (Tm-end) temperatures with increasing ethylene comonomer content as a result of the defects the ethylene units induce in the crystalline structure of PP. Rheological measurements suggest that the addition of ethylene comonomer content resulted in negligible changes in the extensional and shear rheological responses of the PP-based resins. In addition, the foam expansion results and the observed morphologies reveal no significant change in the resins’ foamability, characterized by the shape of their expansion profiles with respect to the foaming temperature. Interestingly, the FPW was found to be the sole affected parameter, as 1.5 wt % of ethylene comonomers resulted in a 10 °C shift in the FPW toward lower temperatures, compared to the PP homopolymer. The resins with 0 and 1.5 wt % of ethylene comonomer content showed similar mechanical responses under compression tests for their optimally expanded samples. These findings reveal a potentially effective approach for tuning the FPW of processed PP resins without compromising their foaming and mechanical performances. Consequently, foam processing techniques are further enhanced, resulting in a wider span of potential applications.