Rheological Characterization of Polypropylene/Clay Nanocomposites

CORA OTILIA ROHLMANN; MARCELO DANIEL FAILLA; LIDIA MARÍA QUINZANI

Río de Janeiro, Brasil (16 al 21 de julio de 2006)

Congreso; World Polymer Congress, MACRO 2006 - 41th. International Symposium on Macromolecules; 2006

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Associação Brasileira de Polímeros

Polypropylene-clay nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing. A compatibilizer, polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride, was added to improve the interaction between the clay and the polymer matrix. Different concentrations of an organically modified clay and the compatibilizer were considered to investigate the relationship between the structural characteristics of the composites and their properties. The characterization of the clay and the analysis of the morphology of the composites was done using electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The dynamic moduli of the materials were obtained in a rotational rheometer as a function of temperature and frequency. The measured moduli of the composites were larger than those of the corresponding polymer matrices, mainly at low frequencies. An increase of the elastic modulus of the composites was observed during the annealing of the materials in the molten state, which is sensitive to the concentrations of the clay and the compatibilizer.