Studies on interfacial chemistry of polypropylene/aluminium hydroxide composites

In order to improve the mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/Al(OH)(3) composites, the surface of Al(OH)(3) was treated with a KH-792 silane coupling agent, and acrylic acid (AA) was grafted onto the PP, The interface between the PP-g-AA (PP grafted by AA) and silane coupling agent, and the interface between the Al(OH)(3) and silane coupling agent were investigated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that the siloxane group of the KH-792 coupling agent can bond chemically with the AI(OH)(3) surface, and the amine group at the other site of the coupling agent can bond chemically with the acrylic acid of PP-g-AA. The mechanical properties of PP/Al(OH)(3) composites were significantly improved in high loadings. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.