Blending PP with PA6 industrial wastes: Effect of the composition and the compatibilization

Blending polypropylene to recycled PA6 industrial wastes at different compositions, with and without compatibilizer PPgMA was produced in a corotating twin screw extruder where, polypropylene acts as the polymer matrix and polyamide as the dispersed phase. Several techniques were used to investigate the morphology, thermal, viscoelastic and tensile properties of these blend. Binary PP/PA6 blends showed the presence of PA6 particles dispersed in the PP continuous phase and exhibited a coarse morphology. Increasing PA6 contents in the blend increased their crystallinity and their size and improved the tensile properties at weak deformation. In addition to compatibilizer PPgMA, the morphology shows lower diameters and a decrease in size of the dispersed PA6 particles. The interfacial adhesion was also improved, as a result of the creation of an interphase that was formed by the interaction between the formed PPgPA6 copolymer in situ and both phases. This interphase induced an improvement in tensile properties. The PPgPA6 copolymer generated by the interphase was identified with DMA analysis thanks to an additional transition in loss modulus curves. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Functionalized elastomeric compatibilizer in PA 6/PP blends and binary interactions between compatibilizer and polymer

Superior impact properties were obtained when maleic anhydride grafted styrene ethylene/butylene styrene block copolymer (SEBS-g-MAH) was used as a compatibilizer in blends of polyamide 6 (PA 6) and isotactic polypropylene (PP), where polyamide was the majority phase and polypropylene the minority phase. The optimum impact properties were achieved when the weight relation PA:PP was 80:20 and 10 wt% SEBS-g-MAH was added. The blend morphology was systematically investigated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that the compatibilizer forms a cellular structure in the PA phase in addition to acting as an interfacial agent between the two polymer phases. In this cellular-like morphology the compatibilizer appears to form the continuous phase, while polyamide and polypropylene form separate dispersions. In microscopy, PA appeared as a fine dispersion and PP as a coarse dispersion. The mechanical properties indicated that in fact PA, too, is continuous, and the blend can be interpreted as possessing a modified semi-interpenetrating network (IPN) structure with separate secondary dispersion of PP. The coarser PP dispersion plays an essential role in impact modification. Binary blends of the compatibilizer and one blend component were also investigated separately. The same cellular structure was observed in the binary PA/SEBS-g-MAH blends, and SEBS-g-MAH again appeared to form the continuous phase when the elastomer concentration was at least 10 to 20 wt%. By contrast, in PP/SEBS-g-MAH only conventional dispersion of elastomeric SEBS-g-MAH was observed up to 40 wt% elastomer. Impact strength was improved and the elastic modulus was lowered in both PA/SEBS-g-MAH and PP/SEBS-g-MAH blends when the elastomer content was increased. The changes in modulus indicate that the semi-IPN-like structure is formed in the binary PA/SEBS-g-MAH blends as well as in the ternary structure.     

Effect of clay modification on the morphological,mechanical, and thermal properties of polyamide 6/polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Polyamide 6/polypropylene (PA6/PP = 70/30 parts) blends containing 4 phr (parts per hundred resin) of organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) were prepared by melt compounding. The sodium montmorillonite (Na‐MMT) was modified using three different types of alkyl ammonium salts, namely dodecylamine, 12‐aminolauric acid, and stearylamine. The effect of clay modification on the morphological and mechanical properties of PA6/PP nanocomposites was investigated using x‐ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), tensile, flexural, and impact tests. The thermal properties of PA6/PP nanocomposites were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and heat distortion temperature (HDT). XRD and TEM results indicated the formation of exfoliated structure for the PA6/PP nanocomposites prepared using stearylamine modified montmorillonite. On the other hand, a mixture of intercalated and exfoliated structures was found for the PA6/PP nanocomposites prepared using 12‐aminolauric acid and dodecylamine modified montmorillonite. Incorporation of OMMT increased the stiffness but decreased the ductility and toughness of PA6/PP blend. The PA6/PP nanocomposite containing stearylamine modified montmorillonite showed the highest tensile, flexural, and thermal properties among all nanocomposites. This could be attributed to better exfoliated structure in the PA6/PP nanocomposite containing stearylamine modified montmorillonite. The storage modulus and HDT of PA6/PP blend were increased significantly with the incorporation of both Na‐MMT and OMMT. The highest value in both storage modulus and HDT was found in the PA6/PP nanocomposite containing stearylamine modified montmorillonite due to its better exfoliated structure. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1156–1167, 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Preparation and properties of novel epoxy composites containing electrospun PA6/F‐MWNTs fibers

The Nylon 6 (PA6)/the functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (F‐MWNTs) fibrous membranes were fabricated by electrospinning, and then incorporated into an epoxy matrix. Their morphology, thermal stability, mechanical properties, thermal conductivities, and electrical resistivity were investigated. The electrospun PA6/F‐MWNTs fibers performed as a skeleton in the epoxy matrix, and the well interfacial adhesion between the epoxy matrix and the PA6/F‐MWNTs fibers leads to high mechanical properties of composites. The PA6 serves as an intermediate layer and alleviates the modulus mismatch between the stiff MWNTs and the soft epoxy matrix. The thermal conductivities of the epoxy composites increase by 27.3, 35.0, and 36.1%, respectively, with 0.5, 1 and 1.5 wt% F‐MWNTs loading in the PA6/F‐MWNTs fibers. At the same time, the PA6 simultaneously retains the high electrical resistivity of these epoxy composites. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:1259–1266, 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Phase morphology,thermomechanical, and crystallization behavior of uncompatibilized and PP‐g‐MAH compatibilized polypropylene/polystyrene blends

In this article, we discuss the phase morphology, thermal, mechanical, and crystallization properties of uncompatibilized and compatibilized polypropylene/polystyrene (PP/PS) blends. It is observed that the Young's modulus increases, but other mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength, elongation at break, and impact strength decrease by blending PS to PP. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of PP/PS blends were compared with various theoretical models. The thermal stability, melting, and crystallization temperatures and percentage crystallinity of semicrystalline PP in the blends were marginally decreased by the addition of amorphous PS. The presence of maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (compatibilizer) increases the phase stability of 90/10 and 80/20 blends by preventing the coalescence. Hence, finer and more uniform droplets of PS dispersed phases are observed. The compatibilizer induced some improvement in impact strength for the blends with PP matrix phase, however fluctuations in modulus, strength and ductility were observed with respect to the uncompatibilized blend. The thermal stability was not much affected by the addition of the compatibilizer for the PP rich blends but shows some decrease in the thermal stability of the blends, where PS forms the matrix. On the other hand, the % crystallinity was increased by the addition of compatibilizer, irrespective of the blend concentration. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42100.     

Cover Image,Volume 138, Issue 9

Blends of polypropylene (PP), polyamide 6 (PA6), and biodegradable polymers (BPs) such as poly(D,L-lactic acid) (PDLLA), poly(lactic acid-co-ε-caprolactone) (poly[LA-co-ε-CL]) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared using a twin-screw mini-extruder. The composition of the blend PP/PA6 was fixed at a mass proportion of 70/30, and the compatibilized blends contain 5 wt% of each BP. The morphology observed through scanning electronic microscopy, the dynamic mechanical thermal properties (DMTA), and the biodegradation test after composting and performing optical microscopy (OM) of the blends were investigated. The blend PP/PA6 compatibilized with polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PPMA) was also obtained and used as a reference. The results showed that the PP/PA6/PPMA revealed a more homogeneous morphology and resulted in higher modulus; nevertheless, the sample obtained with the lower molar mass PDLLA as an alternative for PPMA showed a storage modulus behavior close to the reference material. Poly(LA-co-ε-CL) and PCL also showed changes in the morphology of the PA6 dispersed phase. Positive results were observed in the biodegradation test examined by OM for all samples containing BPs. The novelty of this work was to employ BPs as compatibilizing agents of the blends comprising PP/PA6, producing ternary blends with superior mechanical properties due to the better dispersion of the phases.     

Flammability and thermal degradation of intumescent flame‐retardant polypropylene composites

The flammability of polypropylene (PP) composites containing intumescent flame‐retardant additives, i.e., melamine pyrophosphate (MPP) and 1‐oxo‐4‐hydroxymethyl‐2,6,7‐trioxa‐1‐phosphabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (PEPA) was characterized by limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL 94 test, and cone calorimeter. In addition, the thermal degradation of the composites was studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TG) and real‐time Fourier transform infrared (RTFTIR). It has been found that the PP composite only containing MPP (or PEPA) does not show good flame retardancy even at 30% additive level. Compared with the PP/MPP binary composite, the LOI values of the PP/MPP/PEPA ternary composites at the same additive loading are all increased, and UL 94 rating of the ternary composite (PP3) studied is raised to V‐0 rating from no rating (PP/MPP). The cone calorimeter results show that the heat release rate of some ternary composites decreases in comparison with the binary composite. It is noted from the TG data that initial decomposition temperatures of ternary composites are lower than that of the binary composites. The RTFTIR study indicates that the PP/MPP/PEPA composites have higher thermal oxidative stability than the pure PP. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Influence of nano silica hybrid expandable graphite on flammability,thermal stability,and mechanical property of polypropylene/polyamide 6 blends

Silica (SiO₂) nanohybrid expandable graphite (nEG) particles fabricated through one-step method are used as an efficient flame retardant for polypropylene (PP)/polyamide 6 (PA6) blends. The effect of nEG on the flammability, thermal stability, crystallization behaviors, and mechanical properties of PP/PA6 composites is investigated by using limit oxygen index (LOI), UL-94 test, cone calorimeter test (CCT), thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical tests. Compared with pure expandable graphite (EG), nEG improves the flame retardancy of composites. The results of LOI show that LOI of PP/PA6/nEG10 and PP/PA6/nEG15 composites are 26.0% and 27.2%, respectively. But the LOI values of PP/PA6/EG10 and PP/PA6/EG15 composites are 25.7% and 26.9%, respectively. The UL-94 test results show that PP/PA6/nEG10 composites reach V-1 level when the nEG content is only 10%. However, the PP/PA6 composites with 10% EG does not pass the UL-94 test. In addition, PP/PA6 composites with 15% nEG can reach V-0 level. The CCT results further show that nEG has a higher flame-retardant efficiency than pure EG for PP/PA6 blends. The thermal stability of PP/PA6/nEG composites is better than that of PP/PA6/EG composites. The mechanical property tests indicate that nEG is more conducive to maintain the tensile and impact strengths of PP/PA6 blends than EG due to the enhanced compatibility and interfacial adhesion.     

Studies on the properties of polypropylene/(waste tire dust)/kenaf (PP/WTD/KNF) composites with addition of phthalic anhydride (PA) as a function of KNF loading

The properties of polypropylene/(waste tire dust)/kenaf (PP/WTD/KNF) composites with the addition of phthalic anhydride (PA) as a function of KNF loading were studied. Composites containing constant PP and WTD compositions of 70 and 30 parts by weight per hundred parts of resin (phr), with various KNF loadings (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 phr), were prepared by using a Thermo‐Haake Polydrive internal mixer at a temperature of 180°C with a rotor speed of 50 rpm. The results showed that tensile strength and elongation at break decreased, while tensile modulus, stabilization torque, water absorption, and thermal stability increased with increased KNF loading. PP/WTD/KNF composites with PA showed higher tensile strength, tensile modulus, and water uptake but lower stabilization torque and elongation at break when compared with PP/WTD/KNF composites. Scanning electron microscopy morphological study on the tensile fractured surface proves that the interfacial adhesion between PP/WTD and KNF was enhanced with the addition of PA. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 20:193–200, 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Properties of anionic polymerized ε‐caprolactam in the presence of carbon nanotubes

The results of the investigations of the relations between structure, physical and usage properties of polyamide 6 (PA6) reinforced with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are presented. A method of in situ anionic bulk polymerization of ε‐caprolactam in the presence of MWNTs was used for the preparation of reinforced PA6. The polymerization product was crushed, and the pellets of PA6 and PA6/MWNTs composites were injection molded to produce the standard test specimens for various measurements. The surface morphology (SEM), thermal (DSC, TGA, DMTA), and mechanical properties (tensile strength, Charpy's notched impact strength) of these materials were examined. Some differences between our specimens and those obtained by hydrolytic polymerization of ε‐caprolactam (CL) were found. It was found that a small amount of carbon nanotube decreases the crystallinity degree of PA6 matrix in the composites. The thermal stability was higher than that for neat PA6. DMTA results showed that the magnitudes of the storage modulus are higher for the PA6/MWNTs composites than for the unmodified PA6 in the temperature range between ?90 and 200°C. The tensile strength and tensile modulus are higher compared with the neat PA6. The elongation at break showed no noticeable change in the range of MWNTs loading considered, while the Charpy's notched impact strength slightly decreased. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

PP/KPEG/MWNTs导热复合材料制备及性能

将可膨胀石墨(KPEG)和多壁碳纳米管(MWNTs)混合填料填充至聚丙烯(PP)制备PP/KPEG/MWNTs导热复合材料。保持混合填料总质量分数30%不变,改变两者质量比进行试验。结果表明,随着MWNTs填充比例增加,导热复合材料的拉伸强度呈先增大后减小趋势,而缺口冲击强度总体呈下降趋势。与纯PP相比,当MWNTs与KPEG质量比为1∶5(MWNTs质量分数为5%)时,导热复合材料的热导率提高了328.4%;MWNTs可提高复合材料热稳定性,但改变其与KPEG质量比在试验范围内对热稳定性影响较弱。     

Crystallization behavior of polypropylene/polyamide 6/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Polymer blended materials such as polyamide 6 (PA6)/polypropylene (PP) blends have received considerable attention in recent years. To improve the compatibility of PA6 and PP, compatibilizers like maleic anhydride‐g‐polypropylene (MPP) are often added. In addition, organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) is also used to improve the properties of various materials. In this work, the crystallization behavior of PP/PA6/MMT nanocomposites with MPP compatibilizer was investigated systematically. The annealing process effectively improved the crystallization of α‐PP. The crystallization temperature (T_c) of PA6 was increased by ca 2–3 °C on introducing MPP or MMT alone to the PP/PA6 system, whereas T_c of PP underwent no obvious change. However, when MPP and MMT were added simultaneously, T_c of PP and PA6 increased by 6.6 and 4.2 °C, respectively, and a new crystallization peak corresponding to PP‐g‐PA6 copolymer phase was observed at 162.5 °C. The combined effect of MPP and MMT led to better compatibility of PP with PA6. Moreover, the results of a non‐isothermal crystallization kinetics experiment revealed that the simultaneous introduction of MPP and MMT markedly shortened the crystallization time. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Morphological,Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene and Vermiculite Blends

Morphological, thermal and mechanical properties of blends prepared from polypropylene (PP) and 1, 3 and 5 wt% of vermiculite (VMT) were studied. The samples were prepared in a twin-screw extruder. The addition of maleic anhydride-functionalized polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) was also investigated. The blend morphologies were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties of the composites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The DSC results showed that PP crystallizes on cooling at higher temperatures as VMT content increases. The increase in crystallization temperature was most evident for blends with 5 wt% VMT. The TGA results showed that the use of VMT particles to fill polypropylene increased the thermal stability of the composite. The mechanical properties, tensile modulus and tensile strength at yield point of the PP improved by the presence of VMT.     

Polypropylene/carbon nanotube composites prepared with a environmentally benign processes

Polypropylene (PP)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites were prepared with an environmentally benign processes. The surface functionalization of the MWNTs was performed with water as a solvent, and the functionalized MWNTs were mixed with PP to form composites with a melt process. The effects of the MWNTs on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites were studied. The tensile strength and modulus of the composites increased with the amount of MWNTs. The thermal stability was also improved by the reinforced MWNTs. The MWNTs also improved the oxidative stability of the composite on UV irradiation. Although pure PP degraded almost completely after 12 h of irradiation, the composite reinforced with MWNTs retained some level of mechanical strength after UV irradiation. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

添加PA66－MPP提高PP／GF增强塑料力学性能的研究

本文研究ＰＰ／ＧＦ（玻纤增强聚丙烯）的加工过程中，添加ＰＡ６６（尼龙）、ＭＰＰ（ＰＰ－ｇ－ＭＡＨ）进一步促进ＧＦ对ＰＰ的增强作用。考察了ＭＰＰ对ＰＰ／ＰＡ６６共混物的增容作用，ＰＡ６６、ＭＰＰ的组成配比对ＰＰ／ＧＦ增强塑料力学性能和微观结构的影响。结果表明：ＰＡ６６、ＭＰＰ的组成比对ＰＰ／ＧＦ的力学性能影响较大；较佳配比的ＰＡ６６、ＭＰＰ，可大幅度地提高增强塑料的力学性能。     

Using PA6 as a charring agent in intumescent polypropylene formulations based on carboxylated polypropylene compatibilizer and nano‐montmorillonite synergistic agent

The intumescent fire retardant polypropylene (IFP/PP) filled with ammonium polyphosphate (APP), melamine (M), and PA6 (charring agent) is discussed. Intumescing degree (ID) and the char yield were determined. Only when the three main components of IFR coexist at appropriate proportions, it has optimal ID and higher char yield. The appropriate proportion is PA6 : APP : M = 10 : 10 : 5. A new compatibilizer, carboxylated polypropylene (EPP), was added to PP/PA‐6 blend. Flow tests indicated that the apparent viscosity increased with the addition of EPP, thermal characterization suggested that EPP has reacted with PA6, PA6‐g‐EPP cocrystallized with PA6, and EPP‐g‐PA6 cocrystallized with PP; SEM micrographs illustrated that the presence of EPP improved the compatibility of PP and PA6. All the investigations showed that EPP was an excellent compatibilizer, and it was a true coupling agent for PP/PA6 blends. Using PA6 as a charring agent resulted in the IFR/PP dripping, which deteriorated the flammability properties. The addition of nano‐montmorillonite (nano‐MMT) as a synergistic agent of IFR enabled to overcome the shortcoming. The tensile test testified that the addition of nano‐MMT enhanced the mechanical strength by 44.3%. SEM showed that nano‐MMT improved the compatibility of the composites. It was concluded that the intumescent system with nano‐MMT was an effective flame retardant in improving combustion properties of polypropylene. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 739–746, 2006     

Influence of polyamide 6 as a charring agent on the flame retardancy,thermal, and mechanical properties of polypropylene composites

In this work, polyamide 6 (PA6) as a charring agent has been used in combination with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)‐microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate (MTAPP) forming intumescent flame retardants (IFRs) which applies in polypropylene (PP). The effects of the IFRs on the flame retardancy, morphology of char layers, water resistance, thermal properties and mechanical properties of flame‐retardant PP composites are investigated by limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL‐94 test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and mechanical properties test. The results show that the PP/MTAPP/PA6 composites exhibit much better flame‐retardant performances than the PP/MTAPP composites. The higher LOI values and UL‐94 V‐2 of the PP/MTAPP composites with suitable amount of PA6 are obtained, which is attributed to the thick and compact char layer structure evidenced by SEM. The results from TGA and DSC demonstrate that the introduction of PA6 into PP/MTAPP composites has a great effect on the thermal stability and crystallization behaviors of the composites. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of PP/MTAPP/PA6 composites are also improved greatly due to the presence of PA6 as a charring agent. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1355–1360, 2015. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers     

PP-g-MAH对尼龙6/炭黑复合材料性能和形貌的影响

以炭黑(CB)为导电填料,马来酸酐接枝聚丙烯(PP-g-MAH)为增韧剂,通过双螺杆挤出机和注射成型机制备了尼龙(PA)6/PP-g-MAH/CB复合材料,研究了PP-g-MAH含量对7.5%CB填充PA6力学性能、抗静电性能、热稳定性能和形貌的影响。结果表明,添加质量分数20%的PP-g-MAH可提高PA6/CB复合材料的拉伸强度、韧性、抗静电性能和热稳定性。PA6/PP-g-MAH/CB复合材料力学强度和热稳定性的提高源于PP-g-MAH产生的能量耗散以及CB,PP-g-MAH与PA6之间较好的界面粘附和PP-g-MAH均匀细化分散在PA6/CB中。PP-g-MAH改变了CB在共混物中的选择性分布,使PA6/CB的表面电阻率和体积电阻率分别下降5个和3个数量级。     

Structure-property relationships of short fiber reinforced polypropylene-polyamide blends

Short fiber composites based on polypropylene (PP)-polyamide (PA) blends were studied using compatibilizers comprising maleic anhydride modified polypropylene. Results have shown that the structure and morphology developed and the resultant mechanical properties of the blend composites strongly depend on the number of acid functional groups in the compatibilizers. The impact strength and tensile modulus of the PP-PA blend composite more than doubled compared with PA and PP short fiber composites, respectively. Furthermore, analytical methods characterizing nonisothermal crystallization were used to investigate the crystallization of fiber containing blends in constrained matrix nucleation mode. Results have shown that interphase interactions are the dominant ones with respect to morphology development. Synergistic effects were obtained that were due to the effect of fibers.     

共混顺序对石墨烯微片在PP/PA6/SEBS共混物中的选择性分布和迁移的影响

研究了聚丙烯(PP)/聚酰胺6(PA6)/氢化苯乙烯-丁二烯嵌段共聚物(SEBS)/石墨烯微片(GNPs)纳米复合材料在不同共混顺序下的微观形貌、导电及导热性能,分析了GNPs在复合体系中的选择性分布和迁移及其对复合材料性能的影响.结果表明,在PP/PA6/SEBS/GNPs共混体系中,GNPs在界面张力的作用下趋向于...