Thermal properties and morphology of polypropylene based on exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets/nanomagnesium oxide

Abstract

Polypropylene/exfoliated graphite nanoplatelet (xGnP) composites reinforced with 2 wt.% nano-magnesia (n-MgO) have been successfully fabricated using an injection moulding machine. In the present study, the thermal properties and morphological structure of the composites were investigated. The XRD patterns of the composites showed xGnP and n-MgO peaks, and the intensity of the xGnP peaks increased with increased concentration in a polypropylene matrix. In addition, the SEM micrographs revealed a good dispersion of filler within the matrix. The nanocomposites showed better thermal stability than the pristine polymer. The improvement in onset temperature compared to virgin PP was found to be 3.6% for 100 wt.% PP, 4% for PP/1xGnP/2n-MgO, 5.5% for PP/2.5xGnP/2n-MgO, and 5.9% for PP/5xGnP/2n-MgO, PP/10xGnP/2n-MgO. In contrast, the crystallinity was reduced by the addition of fillers.