Structure, crystallization behavior, and thermal stability of PP/MCM‐41 nanocomposite

Abstract

AbstractThe structure, crystallization, and thermal stability of polypropylene containing nanosized MCM‐41 particle, whose pore channels were filled with polystyrene inside the pore channels with the aid of supercritical CO2, were investigated by X‐ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analyses, respectively. The results of differential scanning calorimetry showed that the incorporation of MCM‐41 (without template) increased the melting temperature and the crystallization temperature by approximately 7 and 1.8°C, respectively. Although the incorporation of MCM‐41 (with template) and MCM‐41‐S‐PS decreased the melting temperature, the crystallization temperature and the crystallization rate increased. The result of crystallization kinetics showed dramatic increase in crystallization rate and decrease in t1/2 and tf for PP/MCM‐41 (without template) nanocomposite, whereas decrease in crystallization rate and increase in t1/2 and tf for PP/MCM‐41 (with template) and PP/MCM‐41‐S‐PS nanocomposites. The thermal results indicated that the thermal stability of the composite was enhanced by addition of all nanoparticles. At the 95% weight loss, adding 2.5 wt% nanomaterial, the decomposition temperature of PP/MCM‐41‐S‐PS was 50.71°C higher than that of PP, 13.98°C higher than that of PP/MCM‐41 (without template), and 0.39°C higher than that of PP/MCM‐41 (with template). POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers