Preparation of polypropylene/nanoclay composite fibers

Melt spinning of nanoclay (NA)/polypropylene (PP) composites into textile fibers is studied. The synthetic NA Perkalite F100 is prone to be exfoliated in PP matrix. With the help of a maleic anhydride‐grafted low‐molecular‐weight PP as compatibilizer (Epolene E43), a highly exfoliated PP/NA composite was successfully prepared. However, the prepared PP/NA composite shows a poor spinnability because of the phase separation between Epolene E43 and PP matrix. The combination of two different groups of compatibilizers, which are Polybond 1001 (acrylic acid‐grafted PP) for the dispersion of NA and Epolene G3216 (maleic anhydride‐grafted PP‐based copolymer) for the exfoliation of NA, can solve this problem. The PP/NA composite prepared by these two compatibilizers can be smoothly spun into fiber at the NA concentration below 1.9 wt%, which is found to be the percolation concentration of formation of NA network structure in PP matrix. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2035–2044, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers