Nanocomposites of polypropylene and commercial montmorillonite organophilic Cloisite 20A containing 2.5%, 5%, 7.5% and 10% of clay with polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride as coupling agent were prepared through the melt intercalation by twin-screw extruder. The materials were characterized by x-ray diffraction, tensile and impact properties according to ASTM D638 and D256 test methods, respectively. The x-ray diffraction results showed exfoliated or intercalated structures for different concentrations of the clay. The tensile modulus improved with the increase of the amount of the clay while the impact strength showed unsatisfactory results.
Nanocomposites; montmorillonite; polypropylene; polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride
