Feldspar Reinforced Polypropylene Composites: The Effect Of Compatibilizers, Silane Coupling Agent And Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube On Mechanical, Thermal And Morphological Properties
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Date
2009-07
Authors
Mohamed Nainar, Mohamed Ansari
Journal Title
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Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
In this research, feldspar was chosen as a filler material where different filler loading viz. 10 wt%, 20 wt%, 30 wt%, and 40 wt% feldspar filled Polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared using melt mixing technique and then the composite sheet was produced using Hot Press. Tensile test was carried out using an Instron universal testing machine where the tensile strength and elongation at break decrease but tensile modulus and hardness increase as the filler loading is increased. Compatibilizers improved the processability and compatibility of the feldspar/PP composites. Two compatibilizers namely polyethylene co-acrylic acid (PEAA) and PP grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) were used but PP-g-MAH compatibilizers scored better results by showing marginal increase in tensile strength, elongation at break and Young’s modulus of the composites due to the enhancement of the interfacial adhesion between feldspar and PP as shown by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Silane treated feldspar composites using silane coupling agent, 3-(amino propyl) triethoxy silane (3-APEs) also showed similar results due to better interfacial adhesion as investigated by SEM. Feldspar/PP/PP-g-MAH composites and silane treated feldspar/PP composites showed less percentage of water absorption. The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforcement on the properties of feldspar/PP hybrid composites was investigated. The structure and dimensions of the MWCNTs were characterized using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). SEM showed that MWCNTs were well dispersed in feldspar/PP composites particularly at low filler loading i.e. 0.1 wt% attributing to the increase in tensile strength, elongation at break, Young’s modulus, flexural strength, flexural modulus and impact strength. Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) was performed to evaluate their responses at different temperatures at low frequency. The storage modulus (E’) also improved. Structural analyses were done using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy technique which showed dominant peaks corresponding to Si-O, C-N, N-CH3, CNT, C-O, C-Hx groups in the hybrid composites and X-ray diffraction (XRD) which showed feldspar and MWCNT were well dispersed (exfoliated) in the PP matrix.
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Keywords
Feldspar Reinforced Polypropylene Composites , The Effect Of Compatibilizers, Silane Coupling Agent And Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube