Preparation of Polypropylene/Nanoclay Composite Fibers

Melt spinning of nanoclay (NA)/polypropylene (PP) composites into textile fibers is studied. The synthetic NA Perkalite F100 is prone to be exfoliated in PP matrix. With the help of a maleic anhydride-grafted low-molecular-weight PP as compatibilizer (Epolene E43), a highly exfoliated PP/NA composite was successfully prepared. However, the prepared PP/NA composite shows a poor spinnability because of the phase separation between Epolene E43 and PP matrix. The combination of two different groups of compatibilizers, which are Polybond 1001 (acrylic acid-grafted PP) for the dispersion of NA and Epolene G3216 (maleic anhydride-grafted PP-based copolymer) for the exfoliation of NA, can solve this problem. The PP/NA composite prepared by these two compatibilizers can be smoothly spun into fiber at the NA concentration below 1.9 wt%, which is found to be the percolation concentration of formation of NA network structure in PP matrix. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 53:2035-2044, 2013. (c) 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers