High Performance In-Situ Composites Developed from Polypropylene/Nylon 6/Carbon Nanotube Blend Systems

Abstract

In the present work, microfibrillar composites (MFCs) based on polypropylene (PP) /Nylon 6 (NY) blends, along with multi walled carbon tubes (MWCNT) were prepared by melt processing technique. The blending of the fibre forming polymers was carried out in a twin screw extruder with varying concentrations of MWCNT. The drawing of the extruded strands was accomplished in a stretching unit followed by isotropization by compression moulding at a processing temperature below the melting point of NY. At an optimized fixed composition of PP/NY (70/30 w/w %), the influence of stretch ratio on the properties of nanofiller incorporated MFCs was investigated. The morphology development of the MFC samples was observed using high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). The static mechanical studies signify the constructive effect of microfibrils and MWCNTs in reinforcing PP matrix. Dynamic rheological studies support the microfibrils contribution towards the stiffness of the system

Keywords

• microfibrillar composites
• morphology
• mechanical properties
• carbon nanotubes