Effects of MXene on Nonisothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Isotactic Polypropylene

[Image: see text] MXenes, a family of two-dimensional transition-metal carbides/nitrides, have attracted great attention and shown promising application in polymer composites. In this study, a typical MXene Ti(3)C(2)T(x) was prepared by selective etching. The structure and morphology of Ti(3)C(2)T(x) were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, and the results proved that Ti(3)C(2)T(x) was successively fabricated. Then, Ti(3)C(2)T(x)/isotactic polypropylene composites with different Ti(3)C(2)T(x) dosages were fabricated, and the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics and melting behavior of the composites were investigated. The results indicated that when a small amount of Ti(3)C(2)T(x) was added, the crystallization parameters including the crystallization peak temperature and the crystallization rate increased, suggesting that crystallization was promoted. When the weight percentage of Ti(3)C(2)T(x) exceeded 1%, the crystallization parameters showed a reverse trend, suggesting that crystallization was hindered. The activation energy of composites with 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 wt % Ti(3)C(2)T(x) were calculated to be −164.5, −196.5, −193.8, and −147.95 kJ/mol, respectively, revealing that the crystallization of composites is concentration-dependent. The impact of Ti(3)C(2)T(x) dosage on the crystalline structure of the composites was studied using XRD. The related mechanism was proposed.