Melt mixed compatibilized polypropylene/clay nanocomposites. II. Dispersion vs. thermal properties, optical transmittance, and fracture behaviors

Abstract

Compatibilized polypropylene (PP)/clay nanocomposites using two different types of maleated compatibilizers, polyolefin elastomer-grafted maleic anhydride (POE- g-MA) and PP-grafted maleic anhydride (PP- g-MA), to improve the dispersion of various amounts of commercial organoclay (Closite 20 A) were prepared via a melt-mixing technique. The optical transmittance for the POE- g-MA compatibilized nanocomposites was lower than that of PP- g-MA compatibilized cases, although POE- g-MA greatly increased the interlayer spacing of the clay compared with PP- g-MA. The optical transmittance of POE- g-MA compatibilized cases increased with increasing clay content, as a result from a preferentially POE- g-MA adsorbed onto the surface and edge of clay moiety. PP- g-MA compatibilized system conferred higher tensile strength, Young's modulus, or cutting strength through crystalline yielding effect even at the nanofracture zone of deformation, but lower tear strength than POE- g-MA compatibilized system. The current results suggested that high extent of exfoliation may not guarantee high transparency or strength varied with different deformation behaviors.

Mechanical properties and morphology of polypropylene/poly(acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene) nanocomposites

“…This could be attributed to the filler–filler interaction of the clay at high filler loadings, hence resulting in agglomerates, and thus intercalation of the polymer melt into interlayer clays became more difficult. 3,16 This finding is consistent with the previous study. 3,6,26 The increased intensity of the (001) peaks at 5 phr MMT seen in Figure 7 indicates that MMT tends to agglomerate or flocculate with increasing concentration of MMT.…”

“…3,16 This finding is consistent with the previous study. 3,6,26 The increased intensity of the (001) peaks at 5 phr MMT seen in Figure 7 indicates that MMT tends to agglomerate or flocculate with increasing concentration of MMT. Jiang et al also observed an increase in the intensity at 5 wt% of MMT and larger agglomeration with higher MMT content.…”

“…Incorporation of nanofillers into polymer matrices is a popular strategy used to develop new materials with specific beneficial properties, and this method has attracted considerable interest as indicated by numerous publications. [1][2][3][4] These nanofillers may be halloysite nanotubes, carbon nanotubes, montmorillonite (MMT), inorganic particles, and so on. In particular, polymer/clay nanocomposites based on MMT are good examples because they allow polymer properties to be improved.…”

“…As a result, polymer/ clay systems hold great promise for industrial applications due to their ability to display synergistically advanced properties with relatively small amounts of clay loading. 3 To further utilize the unique performance of these nanoparticles, numerous researches have incorporated clay into polypropylene (PP) matrix, one of the widely used nonpolar polyolefin thermoplastics. 2 The reason behind blending PP with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) is to combine the good process ability of PP with the high impact properties of ABS resin, eventually producing a polymer blend with improved properties.…”

“…9 Numerous studies on compatibilized PP/clay nanocomposites have been conducted including studies on the PP/PP-g-MA/clay which focused on the mechanical, morphological, and rheological properties; optical transmittance and mechanical properties of PP/PP-g-MA/clay; different types of compatibilizer on PP/clay; and recently, the mechanical and fracture behaviors of PP/PP-g-MA/clay. 3,[10][11][12] Improvements are shown so far in most of the cases including mechanical and thermal properties.…”