Rheological characterization of melt compounded polypropylene/clay nanocomposites

Polypropylene/clay nanocomposites were prepared by using a two step melt compounding process on twin screw extruders and then rheologically investigated. The melt rheological measurements were performed using an ARES-rheometer in the dynamic mode at 220 °C over frequency varying from 100 to 0.017 rad/s and in the parallel plate geometry with 25 mm diameter.The results showed that the storage modulus and viscosity are found to be increased with the incorporation of clay into PP. A significant increase of these quantities is observed by the incorporation of modified clay that drastically changes the rheological behavior. The results with modified clay indicate an evidence of exfoliation which could be detected rheologically.