Characterization mechanical and thermal properties of modified montmorillointe clay filled polypropylene composites

In this research, we investigated the mechanical and thermal properties of MMTC filled polypropylene composites. The composites were prepared by using Z-blade mixer at processing temperature (170°C) and rotor speed (50 rpm) and mixed samples were then compressed by using a hydraulic hot press at the same temperature to form sheet samples composites. Emphasis was placed on the fracture characterization of the MMTC -filled polypropylene. Tensile strength and stiffness increased steadily with an increased in the clay loading. This led to improve in mechanical properties of the composites. Generally, the results indicated that with modified Montmorillointe clay MMTC showed better mechanical properties and resistance than unmodified MMTC filled polypropylene composites. The micrograph of tensile fractured surface showed that the properties of modified filler polypropylene composites have better inter phase in matrix compared to unmodified filler composites. It was also found that the modified montmorillointe clay offers better thermal stability in the polypropylene/ montmorillointe clay composites than unmodified polypropylene/montmorillointe clay composites.