Morphology, Rheological Properties, and Crystallization Behavior of Polypropylene/Clay Nanocomposites

Abstract

Polypropylene/clay nanocomposites (PP/I.44P, PPCNs) were prepared in a twin-screw extruder using maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) as a compatibilizer. The intercalation of polypropylene into nanoclay particles was studied using X-ray diffraction. Rheological properties of the nanocomposites were investigated using a rheometer. The enhanced complex viscosity at low frequency regime indicated that the melt elasticity and melt strength of the nanocomposites were improved by adding nanoclay. The non-isothermal crystallization behavior of the nanocomposites was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at various cooling rates and was analyzed with the Avrami method. It was found that the nanoclay acted as a heterogeneous nucleating agent resulted in higher crystallization temperature and higher crystallization rate than neat PP. Polarized optical microscopy revealed that the spherulites in the nanocomposites were finer than in the neat system.

Keywords:

• Clay
• kinetics
• maleic-anhydride-grafted-polypropylene
• nanocomposite
• nonisothermal crystallization
• polypropylene
• rheological behavior