Journal
POLYMER
Volume 80, Issue -, Pages 275-281Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2015.09.074
Keywords
Nanocomposites; Graphite nanoplatelets; Metallocenes; In-situ polymerization; Polyolefins
Categories
Funding
- Department of Defense (DoD) through the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship (NDSEG)
- Center for UMass/Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP), Cluster M: Mechanics of Polymers and Composites
- Center for UMass/Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP), Cluster F: Fire Safe Polymers and Polymer Composites
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Isotactic Polypropylene-Exfoliated Graphene Nanoplatelet (iPP-xGnP (TM)) nanocomposites were prepared through an in-situ polymerization technique and compared to analogous composites prepared by melt compounding. In-situ preparation of iPP-xGnP nanocomposites was accomplished via single site metallocene polymerization of propylene within a toluene dispersion of xGnP nanoparticles. The in-situ prepared nanocomposites were compared to analogous nanocomposites prepared by melt compounding of commercial Ziegler-Natta iPP with xGnP. Optical microscopy showed the in-situ prepared nanocomposites demonstrated poorer xGnP dispersion compared to composites prepared by melt compounding. All xGnP-reinforced nanocomposites demonstrated increased crystallization temperature, as well as increases in mechanical strength and modulus, relative to neat iPP. However, the non-linear mechanical properties were found to be influenced by the both the preparation method and nano-particle loading. Nanocomposites prepared by in-situ polymerization generally demonstrated superior ductility and fracture toughness compared to composites prepared by melt compounding. The results are discussed with regard to the preparation technique and xGnP loading. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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