Polymer Engineering and Science, Vol.49, No.8, 1661-1665, 2009
Crystal Distribution and Molecule Orientation of Micro Injection Molded Polypropylene Microstructured Parts
Polypropylene (PP) microstructured part which comprises micro columns array and a macroscopical base plate was manufactured by micro injection molding. The morphology distribution in micro columns is quite different from that of the base plate. This article investigates the crystal distribution and molecule orientation of the microstructured part by X-ray diffraction. The hardness of shear zone of micro columns was evaluated by Nano Indenter. Test results show that both micro columns and macroscopical base plate contain alpha and beta phase. However, the relative proportion of beta phase in micro columns is markedly higher than that of the base plate. beta phase distributes only in the shear zone of the microstructured part. So, the mechanical properties of micro columns must differ from that of the base plate. In addition, the orientation of null set100 mu m micro columns is slight, which indicates that the mechanical anisotropy of micro columns induced by orientation could be ignored. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:16611665, 2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers