Nanomaterials (Apr 2023)

Reducing Moisture Absorption in Polypropylene Nanocomposites for Automotive Headlamps Using Hydrophobicity-Modified Graphene/Montmorillonite

  • Pyoung-Chan Lee,
  • Dongwoo Kang,
  • Ji Taek Oh,
  • Jae Young Seo,
  • Donghyeok Shin,
  • Jae-Uk Jung,
  • Youn Ki Ko,
  • Jin Uk Ha,
  • Myeong-Gi Kim

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13091439
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 9
p. 1439

Abstract

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Polypropylene (PP) is used as a housing material in automotive headlamps but can cause fogging as a result of absorbed moisture and temperature differences between the exterior and interior of the housing. In this study, PP was combined with a graphene/montmorillonite hybrid (MMT-G) to yield a nanocomposite with reduced moisture absorption. Crucially, the modified nanofiller had low hydrophilicity and good compatibility with the PP matrix. Notably, the water contact angle of the MMT-G improved by 676%. Furthermore, the maximum moisture absorption of the PP/MMT-G nanocomposites was reduced by up to 11.22% compared to that of commercial PP composites, and the weight of the headlamp housing was decreased by 3.6%. Therefore, the designed nanocomposites are expected to help mitigate headlamp fogging while slightly reducing the housing weight.

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