Preparation and properties of polypropylene/vermiculite nanocomposite through solid-state shear compounding ((SC)-C-3) method using pan-mill equipment

Nanocomposites of polypropylene (PP) and vermiculite (VMT) were successfully prepared by solid-state shear compounding ((SC)-C-3) using pan-mill equipment without any compatibilizer. The structure and morphology of nanocomposites were determined by X-ray diffraction and scanning and transmission electron microscopy techniques, the crystallization behavior of composites was determined by differential scanning calorimetry; the thermal and mechanical properties of composites are also presented in the paper. The results show that the VMT sheets were partly exfoliated in solid state and the intercalated and exfoliated VMT was formed in the PP matrix by compounding PP and PP/VMT copowders, indicating that (SC)-C-3 is a novel method to prepare polymer/vermiculite nanocomposites.