Phase Behavior and Thermo-Mechanical Properties of IF-WS₂ Reinforced PP–PET Blend-Based Nanocomposites

Abstract

The industrial advancement of high-performance technologies directly depends on the thermo-mechanical properties of materials. Here we give an account of a facile approach for the bulk production of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/polypropylene (PP)-based nanocomposite blend with Inorganic Fullerene Tungsten Sulfide (IF-WS2) nanofiller using a single extruder. Nanofiller IF-WS2 was produced by the rotary chemical vapor deposition (RCVD) method. Subsequently, IF-WS2 nanoparticles were dispersed in PET and PP in different loadings to access impact and their dispersion behavior in polymer matrices. As-prepared blend nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), dynamic differential scanning (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In this work, the tensile strength of the PP/PET matrix with 1% IF-WS2 increased by 31.8%, and the thermal stability of the sample PP/PET matrix with 2% increased by 18 °C. There was an extraordinary decrease in weight loss at elevated temperature for the nanocomposites in TGA analysis, which confirms the role of IF-WS2 on thermal stability versus plain nanocomposites. In addition, this method can also be used for the large-scale production of such materials used in high-temperature environments.

Keywords

• IF-WS₂
• PP/PET blend
• nanomaterials
• phase behavior
• thermal-mechanical properties