Impact essential work of fracture of polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites toughened with SEBS-g-MA elastomer

Poly(propylene) (PP)/organo-montmorillonite (Org-MMT) nanocomposites toughened with maleated styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene (SEBS-g-MA) were prepared via melt compounding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to evaluate the effects of the Org-MMT and SEBS-g-MA additions on the structure of nanocomposites. XRD traces showed that the characteristic (0 0 1) peak of the nanocomposites shifted to the lower angle region. Multi-layered stacks of clay platelets and independent exfoliated platelets were observed in TEM image. This implied that mixed intercalated and exfoliated structure were developed in the nanocomposites. The impact essential work of fracture (EWF) tests were used to evaluate the impact fracture toughness of the nanocomposites toughened with elastomer. The results showed that the SEBS-g-MA additions were beneficial in enhancing the essential and non-essential work of fracture of the nanocomposites.