Study of compatibilizers for glass fibre reinforced nylon 6/polypropylene blends

The efficiency of a synthesized interfacial modifier agent, acrylic acid grafted polypropylene (AAgPP) in glass fibre reinforced nylon 6/polypropylene (GFRN6/PP) blends has been studied. Scanning electron microscopy clearly shows that the dispersed phase particle size decreases when AAgPP content increases (12-fold decrease in diameter) resulting in a more stable morphology. The established emulsification curve for this system emphasizes the efficiency of the synthesised AAgPP as a potential interfacial modifier for GFRN6/PP blends. AAgPP at 7.5wt% is to be considered as the critical concentration for our blend; such a concentration corresponds to maximum interaction between the matrix and the dispersed phase. Strong interactions between the blend components have been observed. The effect of increasing the compatibility agent content on Izod impact, tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation at yield has also been investigated, and a bell-shaped trend observed with a maximum at 7.5wt% AAgPP content. A 25% increase in impact strength for the unnotched specimen, a twofold increase in tensile strength and a fourfold increase in tensile modulus are obtained. At 7.5wt% AAgPP, a tough-brittle fracture transition is observed with a 2.5 mu m particle size diameter. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.