(133d) Polypropylene/Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) Nanocomposites: The Role of Surfactant On Interfacial Compatibility

Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites reinforced with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated through a facile solution-blending approach. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) was utilized as surfactant to improve the interfacial compatibility between PP matrix and MWCNTs. The differences between the untreated and treated MWCNTs on bonding PP-g-MA were investigated. Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) was utilized to determine the functional groups of the untreated/treated MWCNTs, and the dispersion quality of these MWCNTs in PP/PP-g-MA system were investigated through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Enhanced thermal stability was also observed by using thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Crystalline and melting properties of these PP nanocomposites were further investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The melting rheological property reveals a significant decrease in the complex viscosity of these as-prepared PP nanocomposites, which can effectively reduce the energy consumption during the process of polymer nanocomposites. Storage modulus and loss modulus were also discussed in detail.