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Synergistic effect of graphite nanoplatelets and glass fibers in polypropylene composites
Author(s) -
Pedrazzoli Diego,
Pegoretti Alessandro,
Kalaitzidou Kyriaki
Publication year - 2015
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.41682
Subject(s) - composite material , materials science , polypropylene , ultimate tensile strength , compounding , glass fiber , graphite , rheology , nanocomposite , izod impact strength test , molding (decorative) , modulus , composite number , dispersion (optics) , physics , optics
In this study, polypropylene (PP) composites reinforced with short glass fibers (GF) and exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets were obtained by melt compounding followed by injection molding. Morphological observations and quasi‐static tensile tests were carried out in order to investigate how the morphology and the mechanical properties of the composites were affected by the combined effect of two fillers of rather different size scales (i.e., micro‐ and nanoscale). The results indicate that the dispersion of the nanofiller in the PP matrix promoted the formation of a stronger interface between the matrix and GF, as indicated by the increase of the interfacial shear strength determined by the single‐fiber microdebonding test. Concurrently, a significant improvement of the tensile modulus and impact strength of the composites was observed, with small changes in the processability of hybrid composites compared to that of GF composites, as confirmed by rheological measurements. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 41682.