Abstract
A simultaneously increase in stiffness and toughness is needed for improving polypropylene (PP) competitiveness in automotive industry. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of styrene-(ethylene-co-butylene)-styrene triblock copolymer (SEBS) on mechanical and thermal properties of PP, in the presence and the absence of nanoclay. The amount of SEBS in PP was ranged to obtain the matrix with the most favorable stiffness–toughness balance. For this purpose, SEBS domain size and distribution in PP/SEBS blends was determined by means of atomic force microscopy and correlated with mechanical properties. The influence of SEBS on the crystalline structure of PP in PP/organoclay nanocomposites was investigated by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, a synergistic effect of SEBS and nanoclay being pointed out. Moreover large improvement in the impact strength (almost 22 times) was obtained in the case of SEBS-containing nanocomposite in comparison with the composite without SEBS.
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