β-transcrystallinity developed from the novel ringed nuclei in the glass fiber/isotactic polypropylene composite

Glass fiber (GF) was immersed in diluted acid solution and corroded for 4 h. The interfacial morphology of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) reinforced by the corroded GF was studied via polarized optical microscope. It was found that the corroded GF exhibits anomalous nucleating ability to induce ringed nuclei, and beta-transcrystallinity can be developed unexpectedly from these nuclei during isothermal crystallization. The present work provides a novel approach, via which beta-transcrystallinity can arise in static condition from the surface of the acid-corroded (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.