Thermal Behavior and Interaction Calculation of Polypropylene Blend with Poly(ε-Caprolactone) Obtained Using Bis(acac)2Zr Catalyst

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Chemistry, Universitas Negeri Medan, Jl. Willem Iskandar Psr V Medan, 20221, Indonesia Tel.: +62 61 6613365; Fax: +62 61 6614002/6613319

2 Department of Chemistry, Universitas Negeri Medan, Jl. Willem Iskandar Psr V Medan , 2021

3 Department of Chemistry, Universitas Negeri Medan, Jl. Willem Iskandar, Psr V, Medan Estate, Deli Serdang Medan

Abstract

Polypropylene (PP) is a type of synthetic polymer that is non-biodegradable so it is difficult to degrade by microorganisms and causes environmental problems. One solution to overcome this problem is to mix PP with biodegradable polymers such as poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). This study aims to determine the thermal properties and study the interaction of PP mixtures with PCL obtained using bis(acetylacetonato)zirconium(IV) chloride (bis(acac)2Zr) catalyst. Mixing PP with PCL was carried out using blending and solvent evaporation techniques. The polyblend obtained was then analyzed using FTIR, XRD, DSC, and TGA. Based on the FTIR analysis, it can be seen that the PP/PCL polyblend has formed which is indicated by the absence of new functional groups outside PP and PCL. Furthermore, based on the XRD analysis, it can be seen that the resulting PP/PCL polyblend has a lower crystalline peak intensity than pure PP. In line with this, the melting point of PP/PCL polyblend is also lower than pure PP based on DSC analysis. Meanwhile, based on TGA analysis, it was obtained that the thermal decomposition of polyblend was higher than pure PP. These results indicate that there has been an interaction between PP and PCL as evidenced by changes in the crystalline properties and thermal properties of the resulting polyblend compared to pure PP and PCL. Based on the results of computational calculations, it was obtained that the interaction length of the hydrogen atoms of PP with the oxygen atoms of PCL were 3.6 Å and 3.04 Å, respectively. While the delta charge atoms between the hydrogen atoms of PP and the oxygen atoms of PCL were 0.213 and 0.499. These results indicate that there has been an interaction between PP and PCL.

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Egyptian Journal of Chemistry
Volume 68, Issue 13 - Serial Number 13
(In Loving Memory of Late Professor Doctor”Zeinab M. Nofal” In progress
December 2025
Pages 969-976

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History

  • Receive Date: 16 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 17 June 2025
  • Accept Date: 05 July 2025

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