Environmentally-Friendly Fabrication Process and Impact Property of Polypropylene/Inorganic Nanocomposite Materials

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Relation between crystalline morphology and impact property of polypropylene(PP)/inorganic filler nanocomposites fabricated by the simple method without any hydrophobic treatment of filler surfaces was investigated. Up to 5 vol% 190-nm silica nanoparticles without surface modification could be dispersed uniformly through mechanical breakdown of loosely packed agglomerates of silica nanoparticles with low fracture strength in a PP melt during direct melt-compounding. When 190-nm silica nanoparticles were used as filler, the Charpy impact strength of the nanocomposites could be obtained to be higher than that of PP without silica addition. The refinement of the crystal grains in the PP matrix by silica nano-dispersion may enlarge the resistance of crack propagation, resulting in the improvement of impact toughness of the nanocomposites. The other effect of nano-silica addition on the improvement of impact toughness was found to be the release of the concentrated strain and the absorption of the impact energy by the void formation around the silica nanoparticles with surfaces exhibiting poor wettability.