Improvement in the thermal and mechanical properties of PP/Clay nanocomposite using novel ethoxylated oxidized PE wax as a compatibilizer

Abstract

An ethoxylated polyethylene wax (E-OPEW) was synthesized by PEGylation reaction between methoxy polyethylene glycol and oxidized PE wax. Clay nanoparticles were modified with different ratios of E-OPEW and then compounded with PP by the melt mixing process. E-OPEW and PP showed excellent compatibility, but at high percentages of wax (15%), incompatibility occurred between the two phases. In addition, the presence of modified clays in the PP matrix decreased the crystallinity percentage, though it did not change the melting temperature significantly. The results showed that functionalized wax is able to penetrate between clay platelets and increase the distance between them and improve their dispersion in the polymer matrix. Furthermore, it was observed that the distance between clay platelets increased by increasing E-OPEW content. In addition, this result led to a significant improvement in the barrier properties of clay platelets and the thermal stability of the modified nanocomposite compared to other cases. Despite the improved dispersion of nanoparticles, the mechanical strength of nanocomposites decreased at a high percentage of E-OPEW.

Improving the Thermal Behavior and Flame-Retardant Properties of Poly(o-anisidine)/MMT Nanocomposites Incorporated with Poly(o-anisidine) and Clay Nanofiller

“…The thermal stability of POA was improved using MMT clay nanofiller in this study. POA polymer decomposes as the temperature is elevated; however, adding MMT clay to the polymer does not dissolve it due to the MMT nanofiller’s excellent thermal resilience [ 44 ]. By increasing the quantity of MMT clay, the percentage of the residual steadily rose.…”

Functionalization of Poly (1‐hexene) with Maleic Anhydride: The Effect of Reaction Parameters

“…[43] The block copolymers designed with hydrophilic/hydrophobic structures have a good ability to be used as compatibilizer and dispersing macromolecules for nano silica [44] and clay particles. [45]…”

Crystal and morphology development in immiscible nonpolar polymer blend nanocomposite based on low‐density polyethylene and linear low‐density polyethylene in presence of clay and compatibilizer

“…[6][7][8][9][10] However, a well exfoliated morphology is still hardly achievable for polyolefins-based polymer/ clay nanocomposites even in presence of compatibilizers. Among various compatibilizers reported in literature, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] maleic anhydride (MA) grafted polyolefins have been commonly utilized as compatibilizer in polyolefin/OC nanocomposites. However, the morphological change in lack or excess amount of compatibilizer has remained unexplored yet.…”