Premium
Disappearance of the filler—An interesting interfacial evolution during the photooxidative aging of polypropylene composites
Author(s) -
Zhao Jiaohong,
Liu Xuan,
Yang Rui,
Yu Jian
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.42546
Subject(s) - composite material , materials science , ultimate tensile strength , polypropylene , filler (materials) , polyolefin , composite number , layer (electronics)
ABSTRACT The interface between the matrix and filler in polyolefin composites plays an important role in their photooxidative aging processes. An interesting phenomenon, the gradual disappearance of filler particles was observed during the early natural aging of polypropylene (PP)/CaCO 3 composites. Similar phenomena were also observed in a PP/SiO 2 composite and PP/poly(methyl methacrylate) blend. The morphological observation and tensile and chemical analyses indicated that the photooxidized groups of the PP chain interacted strongly with the filler particles; this increased the tensile strength during the early aging stage. The PP matrix was entangled in the filler particles. Therefore, the filler particles were embedded in the matrix, and the fracture occurred in the PP matrix instead of at the interface between them. On the basis of these results, a “disappearing” filler mechanism for the PP composites was proposed. This work provides a possible way for improving the mechanical properties of PP composites with appropriate aging. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132 , 42546.