title: Permeability of water and oleic acid in composite films of phase separated polypropylene and cellulose stearate blends.
abstract: Cellulose esters with long carbon side chains (e.g. stearate) were produced via a homogenous reaction in ionic liquids. The degree of substitution was calculated to approximately 2. The melt rheology was studied for the pure cellulose esters but also combinations of the esters and polypropylene to study the processability of a blended composite material. It was shown that the compatibility between the two components was weak, which resulted in a phase-separated composite material. The morphology and permeability of water and oleic acid of the composite films were studied and it was shown that the water permeability decreased upon addition of the cellulose ester to the polymer. The permeability of oleic acid was however unchanged, which is most probable a result of high solubility in the cellulose ester rich domains of the composites. Also, the following hypothesis is stated: cellulose stearate influence the polypropylene crystallization process by decreasing the size of spherulites.
authors: Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia. Electronic address: illia.krasnou@ttu.ee.
authors: Illia
authors: I
authors: Krasnou
authors: Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors: Sofie
authors: S
authors: Gårdebjer
authors: Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors: Elvira
authors: E
authors: Tarasova
authors: Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors: Anette
authors: A
authors: Larsson
authors: Chalmers University of Technology, Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors: Gunnar
authors: G
authors: Westman
authors: Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia.
authors: Andres
authors: A
authors: Krumme
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D019301:Oleic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D010539:Permeability; D011126:Polypropylenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D013229:Stearic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011126:Polypropylenes; D013229:Stearic Acids; D014867:Water; D019301:Oleic Acid; C031183:stearic acid; D002482:Cellulose
keywords: Cellulose stearate; Permeability; Polymer blending; Polypropylene; Spherulites