Surface properties of polypropylene/organoclay nanocomposites

Influence of nanoclay amount on surface properties of the nanocomposites was investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission spectroscopy (TS). Polypropylene based nanocomposites containing various loads of nanoclay were prepared by melt compounding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterized the dispersion of nanoclay in polymer matrix. AFM and SEM studies have shown increase in surface roughness by raising the amount of nanoclay. Contact angle measurements of the resultant nanocomposites have also shown improvement in wettability related to disperse part of surface tension. POM images illustrated an increase in the number of spherulite simultaneously with a decrease in their size; this result was also supported by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.