Development of Hashin-Shtrikman model to determine the roles and properties of interphases in clay/CaCO3/PP ternary nanocomposite

The predictions of the developed model showed good agreement with the experimental data at different Mt and CaCO3 contents assuming the interphase role which validate the current approach. According to the calculations, the strong and thick interphases were formed in the TPN at low nanofiller concentrations. This occurrence for the present samples was explained by the material and processing parameters. However, the thickness and strength of interphases weakened by increasing in clay content, probably due to the poor dispersion of nanoparticles and reduced interfacial area/adhesion at this condition.