Development and mechanical characterisation of Polypropylene composites with different micro- and nano-sized fillers

LUCÍA FAMÁ; EZEQUIEL PÉREZ; CELINA BERNAL; VERA ALVAREZ; CLAUDIO JAVIER PÉREZ

San Sebastián

Congreso; COMAT-COMP 2009; 2009

In this work, polypropylene (PP) and different fillers (organo-modified clay, SiO2 nanoparticles, Al2O3 nanoparticles or CaCO3 particles) were mixed in an intensive mixer. Uniaxial tensile tests and falling weight impact tests were performed for the matrix and the different composites. All composites obtained were stiffer than neat matrix in agreement with expectations. The composite with CaCO3 also exhibited improved ductility and tensile toughness in comparison to other materials without any loss in tensile strength. However, biaxial impact response of all composites was worse than that of the matrix. SEM observations showed that all fillers were mostly present as big aggregates which could in part responsible for the mechanical behaviour observed.