Intercalated polypropylene/clay nanocomposite and its physical characteristics Original Research Article

Polypropylene (PP)/organo-clay nanocomposites were prepared via a melt-mixing method through two-step melt compounding in a co-rotating intermeshing twin-screw extruder. Different amounts of maleic anhydride (MA)-grafted PP (PP-g-MA) were adopted during compounding as a compatibilizer, and then not only the influence of MA contents of PP-g-MA compatibilizer on the clay dispersion but also thermal and rheological properties of nanocomposites were investigated. The use of PP-g-MA led to not only good dispersion of the clay but also its heterogeneous intercalation. Dispersibility of silicate layers of the clays in the hybrids was investigated by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal stability was examined by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Characteristic rheological behaviors of the PP/clay nanocomposites with various PP-g-MA (MA 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 wt%) were also tested.