Nguyen Thac Kim, Thai Hoang, Phan Quang Thai, Nguyen The Anh

Polypropylene/ maleic anhydride /organic montmorillonite nanocomposites (PP/
MA/ Org-MMT) have been prepared via direct melt intercalation in an internal mixer. Maleic
anhydride (MA) was used as a compatibilizer to improve the dispersability of the clay. The
structures of nanocomposites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission
electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties and
thermal stability were determined by tensile analysis and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA),
respectively. The XRD patterns, TEM and SEM image showed exfoliation of Org-MMT layers in
PP matrix and existence of both the exfoliated, intercalated structures of the formed nanocomposites
in presence of 1% MA. The tensile strength, elongation at break, and thermal stability
of PP/MA/Org-MMT nanocomposites was higher than those of neat PP. MA played a very
important role in reduction of size of Org-MMT and improved its dispersion in PP matrix.