Study of the rheological properties of polypropylene/talc/nanoclay ternary hybrid nano composites

Modification of polypropylene (PP) properties by the addition of particulate fillers has been of interest for several years. In the recent years, the simultaneous use of nanofillers and conventional reinforcing fillers and study of the effect of these hybrid systems on various properties of composite has gained the attention of many researchers. In this paper, nanocomposites based on PP/Talc/Nanoclay were prepared at various filler levels via melt compounding of the ingredients in a twin-screw extruder. Here, a polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA)/Nanoclay master batch was prepared at 140 degrees C. The masterbatch was then used to prepare ternary compounds through a simultaneous feeding system, in a ZSK extruder at 210 degrees C. The extrudate was granulated and then re-extruded through a slit die, to prepare the test specimens. SEM and XRD analysis were used to characterise the systems. Rheological behaviour of the specimens was studied using a parallel plate rheometer. In the ternary blend on comparing with the neat PP, the complex viscosity (eta*) is increased with increasing overall filler content; however, at low frequencies this increase is governed by the content of nano filler while at high frequencies it is mainly determined by talc content. A similar trend was also observed for the variations of storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G '') with frequency. The results showed that the simultaneous use of nano and micro size fillers considerably affects the melt elasticity. It is believed that the hybrid system increases the hydrodynamic effect of filler particles in the molecular motion of the polymer.