Exfoliation and dispersion enhancement in polypropylene nanocomposites by in-situ melt phase...

A novel process using ultrasonics to enhance the exfoliation and dispersion of clay platelets in polypropylene-based nanocomposites has been proposed and investigated. The materials studied were isotactic polypropylene of various molecular weights reinforced with organophilic montmorillonite clay (nanoclay) at 4-6 wt% loadings. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and rheological measurements, on a model system of nanoclay in mineral oil, were first used to determine ultrasonic energy requirements. The effectiveness of the proposed ultrasonic processing technique on polypropylene nanocomposites was ev