Crystallization Behavior and Properties of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene Composites.

Weihong Guo,Lihong Cheng,Yuming Wang,Xiaoqian Cui

doi:10.3390/polym11071198

Abstract

Glass fiber with different content and different kinds of compatibilizers were used to prepare glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (GFRP) composites. β-nucleating agent with different content was used to prepare β-polypropylene (PP), after which the toughness, crystallization ability and heat resistance were all enhanced. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) showed that the crystallite degree and crystallization ability were all greatly improved and β-PP was in dominant position. At last, both β-nucleating agent and glass fiber were used to modify the PP composites (β-GFRP). The formation of β-form PP made the matrix softer, which was beneficial for energy absorption and enhancement of toughness. The tensile strength, flexural strength and flexural modulus were improved dramatically, which were attributed to the coeffect of framework structure of GF and β-form PP.

Highlights

Glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composite material (GFRP) is a type of the material which has excellent mechanical properties, resistance to acid alkali, creep resistance, high thermal decomposition temperature and strong hydrophobicity [1,2,3,4]
Glass fiber (GF) is always served as reinforce material, to prepare glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (GFRP), which is used in various economy and industrial fields such as electrical insulation materials, automobile dashboards, insulation materials and circuit board [1,2,3]
Glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (GFRP) composites were prepared by adding β-nucleating agent, PP-g-MAH or polyolefin elastomer grafted maleic anhydride (POE-g-MAH)

Summary

Introduction

Glass-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composite material (GFRP) is a type of the material which has excellent mechanical properties, resistance to acid alkali, creep resistance, high thermal decomposition temperature and strong hydrophobicity [1,2,3,4]. GFRP with high impact resistance, the common modification methods are grafting modification of polypropylene (PP) or adding elastomer modification. The first three methods are cumbersome, adding a β-nucleating agent is an easy and efficient way to improve the content of the β-PP in the process of PP commercial production [23,24]. Glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (GFRP) composites were prepared by adding β-nucleating agent, PP-g-MAH or polyolefin elastomer grafted maleic anhydride (POE-g-MAH). The effect of the β-nucleating agent on the mechanical properties of the GFRP was studied in the paper

Materials

Sample Preparation

Characterization

Mechanical Properties

Effects of Glass Fiber Contents on the Properties of GFRP Composites

Figure

Crystallization and Melting Behavior of Compatibilizer Modified GFRP

Microstructure of Compatibilizer Modified GFRP Composites

Crystallization Behavior and Melting Behavior of β-GFRP

Mechanical Properties of the Composites of β-GFRP

Microstructure of β-GFRP Composite

Conclusions