Preparation and characterization of thermoplastic olefin/nanosilica composites using a silane-grafted polypropylene matrix

This work reports the morphology and physical properties of silane-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-VTEOS) reinforced with silica nanoparticles and toughened with an elastomeric ethylene-octene copolymer (POE). Vinyltriethoxysilane (VTEOS) was grafted to polypropylene (PP) to form (PP-g-VTEOS), using a peroxide-initiated melt compounding technique. TEM observations of composites containing up to 7 wt% of the nanosilica revealed good dispersion of the silica nanoparticles, which partitioned selectively within the PP-g-VTEOS matrix. Rheological characterization in the linear viscoelasticity region showed significant increases in the low-frequency complex viscosity, storage and loss moduli, which stem from the polymer/filler and filler/filler interactions. The effects of surface treatment of the nanosilica on the morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of the composites were also investigated. The mechanical properties of the composites were greatly enhanced in terms of tensile and flexural strength, while impact strength was preserved when the silane-treated nanosilica was used.