Shear‐induced change of exfoliation and orientation in polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites

For the improved dispersion of montmorillonite (MMT) in a polypropylene (PP) matrix, PP/MMT nanocomposites prepared via direct melt intercalation were further subjected to oscillating stress achieved by dynamic packing injection molding. The shear‐induced morphological changes were investigated with an Instron machine, wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The original nanocomposites possessed a partly intercalated and partly exfoliated morphology. A transformation of the intercalated structure into an exfoliated structure occurred after shearing, and a more homogeneous dispersion of MMT in the PP matrix was obtained. However, the increase of the exfoliated structure was accompanied by the scarifying of the orientation of MMT layers along the shear direction. Some bended or curved MMT layers were found for the first time by TEM after shearing. However, the orientation of PP chains in the PP/MMT nanocomposites became very difficult under an external shear force; this indicated that the molecular motion of PP chains intercalated between MMT layers was highly confined.