SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYPROPYLENE/MONTMORILLONITE NANOCOMPOSITES VIA AN in-situ POLYMERIZATION APPROACH

Polypropylene/montmorillonite （PP/MMT）nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ polymerization using aMMT/MgCl;/TiCl;-EB Ziegler-Natta catalyst activated by triethylaluminum（TEA）. The enlarged layer spacing of MMT wasconfirmed by X-ray wide angle diffraction （WAXD）, demonstrating that MMT were intercalated by the catalyst components.X-ray photoelectron spectrometry （XPS） analysis proved that TiCl;was mainly supported on MgCl;instead of on the surfaceof MMT The exfoliated structure of MMT layers in the PP matrix of PP/MMT composites was demonstrated by WAXDpatterns and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） observation. The higher glass transition temperature and higher storage modulus of the PP/MMT composites in comparison with pure PP were revealed by dynamic mechanical analysis （DMA）.