The addition effect of hollow glass microsphere on the dispersion behavior and physical properties of polypropylene/clay nanocomposites

Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites have been widely researched for last decade due to its high mechanical property and multiple usages in various industrial fields from automobile to consumer packaging. Dispersion of nanoclay in polyethylene and PP is the key factor due to their hydrophobic property. Adding surfactant or introducing a polymer with a functional group, and modifying a natural clay with organic ions have been tried to achieve the better dispersion of clay in polymer matrix. In this study, the PP/clay nanocomposite with maleic anhydride grafted PP and hollow glass microspheres (HGMs) at various compositions were prepared and characterized. The addition of HGMs to PP/clay nanocomposites significantly improved the tensile stress at yield point except 7 wt % of HGMs. It is assumed that this could be due to not only the reinforcing effect of HGMs in PP, but the crushing effect of HGMs on the clay resulting in interlayer increase of clay as well. The barrier properties was also found to be improved about 32% max resulting from the better dispersion and presence of HGMs. It could be assumed that the HGMs could act as a ball creating a ball milling crush force to achieve the better dispersion of clay in the polymer and improve nanocomposite performance. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47476.