Network structural hardening of polypropylene matrix using hybrid of 0D, 1D and 2D carbon-ceramic nanoparticles with enhanced mechanical and thermomechanical properties

Various dimensional structured inorganic nanoparticles have different ways of improving mechanical properties of polymeric materials. However, there are limited studies on hybridization of different nanoparticles with different dimensional structures for optimal enhancement of mechanical properties of polymer matrix. Therefore, this study combined nanoparticles with 0D (barium titanate [BT]), 1D (carbon nanotubes [C]), and 2D (graphene [G] and boron nitride [BN]) to significantly promote the hardness, elastic modulus, tensile strength/modulus, heat deflection and Vicat softening temperature of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites. The nanoparticles were surface functionalized to take care of good interfacial interaction with the PP matrix. The nanocomposites were fabricated via melt compounding techniques. Although all the developed nanocomposites showed enhanced mechanical and thermomechanical properties, the ones containing hybrid of carbon and ceramic nanoparticles with different dimensional structures showed superior responses. For instance, optimal hardness, elastic modulus, heat deflection and Vicat softening temperature of about 269.5 MPa, 2.9 GPa, 100.7 degrees C, and 160 degrees C were measured for the hybrid PP/3 wt%BNG/3 wt%BTC nanocomposite, which are about 239.4%, 77.7%, 19 degrees C, and 11 degrees C higher than that of the pure PP, respectively. The significant enhancement in the measured properties is attributed to effective mechanical interlocking and network structural hardening of the PP matrix.