Reinforcement of PP with a hybrid nanofiller; comparison to talc

Polypropylene composites were prepared with a new, commercially available hybrid nanofiller and talc as a reference. The detailed analysis of the nanofiller proved that its two components are sepiolite and possibly laponite and that it was surface coated with an ammonium ion having long aliphatic chains. The results showed that the concept of hybridization does not necessarily work in all cases. Although an even, homogeneous spatial distribution of the nanofiller was achieved, the nanosized filler particles aggregated above the filler content of 3 wt%. Model calculations yielded a slightly larger reinforcing effect for the nanofiller compared to talc. On the other hand, the absolute values of the most important mechanical properties achieved by the addition of the nanofiller were somewhat worse than those obtained for the talc filled composites. The presence of aggregates and weak interfacial interactions resulting from surface treatment led to only a moderate performance of the nanocomposites.