Morphology prediction of ternary polypropylene composites containing elastomer and calcium carbonate nanoparticles filler

In this work, the morphology was studied in ternary composites of polypropylene (PP) with nanosized calcium carbonate (nano‐CaCO 3 ) fillers and elastomer inclusions and the thermodynamic consideration was used to analyze the formation of phase structure of the composites. The wetting coefficient (ω a ), interfacial tension (γ AB ), and work of adhesion ( W AB ) were calculated to predict dispersion state of nano‐CaCO 3 fillers. A comparison of the prediction and SEM analysis was given. The results show that three types of phase structures were formed: an encapsulation of the filler by elastomer, a separate dispersion of the filler and elastomer, and a particular structure of the filler at the PP/elastomer interface. The predictions by ω a were all successfully supported‐up by SEM analysis and the predictions by W AB were however trustless. Both γ AB and W AB can predict a separate dispersion or an encapsulation phase structure, but they were not available for the particular structure of the filler at the PP/elastomer interface. ω a was competent and favored for the prediction of all three types of morphology among the three parameters. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1578–1584, 2007