Isotactic polypropylene modified with clay and hydrocarbon resin: compatibility, structure and morphology in dependence on crystallization conditions

The influence of a based montmorillonite (MMT) clay on the phase structure, structure, morphology and crystallization behaviour of iPP is investigated. A low molecular mass hydrocarbon resin, containing hydroxyl and acid groups, suitable to interactions probably through hydrogen bonding with the polar surface of the clay, was also added to iPP/clay system with the aim to increase the compatibility between iPP and clay and then to improve the performance of such nanocomposites. The crystallization conditions as well as the blend formulation dictate the phase structure, the clay interlayer distances and the iPP polymorphism. In the ternary system intercalation and probably exfoliation of clay layers can be obtained in dependence on thermal treatments. These results open new perspectives to the preparation of homogeneous polypropylene clay nanocomposites and can be the base for further investigation aiming at optimizing the nanomaterials processing conditions. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B. V.