Morphological structure, processing and properties of propylene polymer matrix nanocomposites

Nanocomposites are a ratios remarkable form of composite materials, which involve imbedding nano or molecular domain particles into organic polymer or resin matrix materials. It is expected that the theoretically predicted mechanical properties of these morphological structure could make them ideal for an advance of technological application. An intimate transformation of the material mechanical, chemical and morphological structure can be obtained by the proper addition of nanoparticle and the thermal processing during annealing. Composites constituted of thermoplastic resin on the matrix filled with propylene nanoparticles have been synthesized through the latex processing. The reinforced particles of propylene with filler volume fraction ranging from 0% to 30% have been elaborated. Reinforcement of randomly distributed nanoparticle in the polymer matrix is examined on specimens before and after annealing processing at 1.20 degrees C. Studies on morphological structure and dynamic rheology of nanocomposites show that particle shape, filler concentration, shear modulus, loss factor, processing technique and filler/matrix interactions are significant factors which will affect the mechanical properties and performance of nanocomposites. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.