IMPROVEMENT OF MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF POLYPROPYLENE NANOCOMPOSITES VARYING NANOCLAYS AND COMPATIBILIZERS(Nanocomposites II)

There is a significant interest in the potential for layered silicates to increase strength, toughness, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and flame retardancy of polymers. Montmorillonite and hectorite are the most commonly used smectite-type layered silicates for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). The objective of this study is to evaluate the enhancement of mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene matrices by adding various smectite based nanoclays with various compatibilizers. These PNCs were produced using the Polymer NanoComposite Injection Molding Compounder (PNC-IMC).Tensile strength and Young’s modulus were measured to evaluate the influence of different nanoclays in the PP matrices. In order to study the nanoclay dispersion and the degree of intercalation/exfoliation of the materials obtained, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were carried out.