Fabrication and Characterization of In Situ Synthesized Nano-CaCO3-Reinforced Polypropylene Composite Materials

To improve the impact toughness of polypropylene (PP), nano-CaCO3 was prepared by an in situ synthesis. The surface of the nano-CaCO3 was modified by KH-550 silane coupling agent and NDZ-401 titanium acid ester coupling agent. Nano-CaCO3/PP composite materials were fabricated through a melt-blending method and characterized, and their mechanical properties were analyzed. The impact toughness and the tensile strength of the PP were improved significantly by the incorporation of nano-CaCO3. When the weight fraction of nano-CaCO3 was 2%, the maximum impact toughness and tensile strength of the PP nanocomposites were 293% and 259%, respectively, of the values for neat PP. Observation of the impact fracture surface of the nanocomposites indicated that the dispersion of nano-CaCO3 modified by NDZ-401 coupling agent was more homogeneous than that of nano-CaCO3 modified by the KH-550 silane coupling agent. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 15:178183, 2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers