Influence of reactive compatibilization on the structure and properties of PP/LDH nanocomposites |
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Authors: | Sunil P. Lonkar Sandrine Therias Fabrice Leroux Jean Luc Gardette Raj Pal Singh |
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Affiliation: | 1. Division of Polymer Science and Engineering, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune‐411 008, India;2. Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, Laboratoire de Photochimie Moléculaire et Macromoléculaire, BP 10448, F‐63000 Clermont‐Ferrand, France;3. CNRS, UMR 6505, LPMM, F‐63173 Aubière, France;4. Clermont Université, Université Blaise Pascal, Laboratoire des Matériaux Inorganiques, BP 10448, F‐63000 Clermont‐Ferrand, France;5. CNRS, UMR 6002, LMI, F‐63173 Aubière, France |
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Abstract: | Polypropylene (PP)/layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites were prepared by the direct melt intercalation method using maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP‐g‐MAH) as a reactive compatibilizer. The compatibilization effects provided by PP‐g‐MAH in different weight fractions and their influence on the structure and properties of the final nanocomposites were investigated. The interactions and structural morphology of the nanocomposites were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of these nanocomposites were investigated as a function of compatibilizer concentration. The detailed morphological and X‐ray diffraction results revealed that the degree of LDH dispersion increases as the amount of PP‐g‐MAH increases. Study of the linear viscoelastic properties showed that the storage modulus G′ is very sensitive to the microstructure of the nanocomposite. The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were significantly influenced by the weight fraction of PP‐g‐MAH due to the shielding and nucleating effect of exfoliated layers. Both the tensile strength and modulus showed substantial improvements with increasing PP‐g‐MAH content, while the elongation at break substantially decreased, although the presence of PP‐g‐MAH somewhat improves these values. The overall results showed that 10 wt% of compatibilizer is optimum to achieve nanocomposites with better performance. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry |
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Keywords: | nanocomposites polypropylene layered double hydroxides compatibilization thermomechanical properties rheology |
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