Characterization of polypropylene–polyethylene blends made of waste materials with compatibilizer and nano-filler

Waste polypropylene and polyethylene were blended by a twin-screw extruder with two compatibilizers (PE-g-MAH and EPDM) and an additive (O-MMT). The mechanical properties were measured firstly. By adding O-MMT, the tensile strength showed a decline while the impact strength made a promotion. The phase morphology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore the fracture toughness of blends. The blend with EPDM had a better compatibilization than PE-g-MAH. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the crystallization behavior and the result showed no change by blending. Moreover, further measurements such as thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were taken to show the thermal stability and crystallization temperature of the blend. Additionally, the storage modulus and loss modulus are measured by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), the presence of O-MMT caused the increases of the storage modulus and loss modulus.