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Reinforcement of Si 3 N 4 nanoparticles in polypropylene single fibers through melt extrusion process and their properties
Author(s) -
Rangari Vijaya K.,
Shaik Yousuf M.,
Mohammad Ghouse M.,
Jeelani Shaik
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.33683
Subject(s) - materials science , polypropylene , composite material , crystallinity , extrusion , polymer , nanoparticle , differential scanning calorimetry , nanocomposite , ultimate tensile strength , dispersion (optics) , polymer nanocomposite , scanning electron microscope , nanotechnology , optics , physics , thermodynamics
We have successfully aligned/dispersed the rod and spherical‐shaped Si 3 N 4 nanoparticles in the polypropylene (PP) fibers through melt extrusion process to fabricate polymer nanocomposite (PNC) single fibers. The alignment/dispersion of Si 3 N 4 nanoparticles in PP/Si 3 N 4 PNC fibers has been carried out in a systematic manner to produce uniform single fibers. The PNC fibers were first uniformly stretched and stabilized using a two‐set Godet machine. The as‐extruded single PNC fibers were tested for their thermal and tensile properties. The test results of PNC fibers were compared to neat PP polymer single fibers fabricated using the same procedure as PNC fibers. These results show that the PNC fibers are much (307%) higher in tensile strength and modulus (>1000%) when compared with the neat PP polymer single fibers. The field emission scanning electron microscope results clearly show the alignment of rod‐Si 3 N 4 nanoparticles in polymer matrix. The differential scanning calorimetry results show ∼ 12% increase in crystallinity for rod‐Si 3 N 4 PNCs when compared with the neat PP single fibers. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011