Thermal, viscoelastic and mechanical behavior of polypropylene with synthetic boehmite alumina nanoparticles

Effects of nanofiller concentration and surface treatment on the morphology, thermal, viscoelastic and mechanical behavior of polypropylene copolymer (PP)/boehmite alumina (BA) nanocomposites were investigated. Both untreated BA particles and those treated with octylsilane (OS) or sulphonic acid compound (OS2) were added at up to 10 wt% to produce nanocomposites by melt mixing followed by film blow molding and hot pressing. Dispersion of BA was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray scattering were adopted to detect changes in the crystalline structure of PP. Thermooxidative degradation of the nanocomposites was assessed by thermogravimetrical analysis. Dynamic mechanical analysis served for studying the viscoelastic properties, whereas quasi-static tensile, creep and Elmendorf tear tests were used to detect changes in the mechanical performance. BA nanoparticles were finely dispersed in PP up to 10 wt%, even when they were not surface modified. The resistance to thermal degradation was markedly improved by BA nanomodification. Since the crystalline characteristics of the PP matrix did not practically change with BA modification, changes observed in the mechanical properties were attributed to BA dispersion, filler/matrix interactions and related effects.