Comparison of thermal and dielectric spectroscopy for nanocomposites based on polypropylene and Layered Double Hydroxide – Proof of interfaces

• Comparison of dielectric and thermal spectroscopy for a polymer based nanocomposite.
• Different Tg’s of the matrix and in the interfacial region close to the nanoparticles.
• Qualitative estimation of the ridged amorphous phase caused by the nanofiller.

Polymer based nanocomposites by melt blending of synthesized ZnAl-Layered Double Hydroxide (ZnAl-LDH) and polypropylene (PP) were investigated by temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC). The LDH was organically modified by using a surfactant, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) to increase the interlayer spacing of the LDH, so that polymer segments can intercalate the inter layer galleries. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and the thermal relaxation strength (Δcp) were determined. The Tg remains constant for concentration till 12 wt% of LDH and a slight reduction of 3 K might be observed for 16 wt% LDH but within the experimental error. The thermal relaxation strength decreases indicating reduction in the amount of mobile polymer segments from amorphous fraction. This finding is supported by the increase in the rigid amorphous fraction (RAF) which is attributed to the polymer molecules which are in close proximity to the crystals and the LDH sheets, as they hinder their mobility. This is analyzed in detail and related to the dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (BDS) results.

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