Preparation and mechanical properties of polypropylene / montmorillonite nanocomposites - After grafted with hard/soft grafting agent

Using a plastograph-mixer by the twin-screw mixed method to obtain the standard shaped specimens of polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCN), to prepare polypropylene (PP) / montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites pellets, grafting with two kinds of different surfactant − maleic anhydride (MA) or thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers (TPO). The chemical structure and polymer morphology of these as-synthesized PCN specimens were characterized by wide-angle powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In addition, we prepare these experimental specimens in order to probe into its mechanical properties. These tests used are: layer distance of PCN, tensile, impact, shore-hardness, wearing tests, and so on. In addition, use XRD to make the characterization analysis, compare it to scatter and layer-distance. It is found that increasing the MA into the MMT, layer-distance at 5 wt% increase from 2.09 nm to 3.94 nm; and increase the TPO into the MMT, layer-distance at 1 wt% increase to the 3.27 nm. For the mechanical property, it is found that these specimens graft the MA have the following results: in the shore hardness test, the MMT weight percentage 5 wt% has the best result, increased by 51.2%. In the wearing test, the MMT 3 wt% strengthens by 81.48%. In addition, the specimens that graft the TPO, in the tensile test, increased by 5.79% have the best result.