Material characterisationDispersion and morphology of polypropylene nanocomposites: Characterization based on a compact and flexible optical sensor

A new on-line optical sensor based on light scattering, dedicated to real-time monitoring during processing of polymer blends and polymer nanocomposites, has been used to characterize dispersion and morphology of polypropylene based organoclay nanocomposites. Polypropylene matrix was mixed with various concentration of organo modified montmorillonite. The results given by optical measurements were compared to those of XRD, TEM and rheological characterizations. The results showed that the transmitted light intensity increases with increasing extent of exfoliation. At high filler concentration, the optical sensor allows a qualitative characterization of the nanocomposite morphology.