Boron nitride nanosheets and silica nanoparticles reinforced polypropylene: Rheological, thermal, mechanical and tribological behaviour

Abstract

In recent years, there has been increased attention to incorporating hybrid filler in polymer matrices to enhance the properties for various applications. In this work, hybrid fillers of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) nanosheets and silica (SiO2 ) nanoparticles are incorporated in a polypropylene (PP) matrix using the melt mixing method. This study is focused on the rheological, thermal, mechanical and tribological behaviour of hybrid filler-reinforced PP-based nanocomposites. The incorporation of hybrid filler in the PP matrix shows an increase in viscosity compared to individual filler-reinforced PP due to the finer dispersion of hybrid filler in the PP matrix. The degree of crystallinity, tensile properties and thermal stability are the highest for the hybrid filler-reinforced PP-based nanocomposite. The increase in tensile modulus and tensile strength are 25 and 1 %, respectively. The wear is the lowest for the hybrid filler-reinforced PP-based nanocomposite.