The β-nucleated ternary composites of polypropylene/nano-CaCO3/short poly(ethylene-terephthalate) fiber

A serial of β-nucleated polypropylene (β-PP)/nano-calcium carbonate (nano-CaCO3)/ short poly(ethylene-terephthalate) (PET) fiber composites were prepared using extrusion blending. Maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP-g-MA) was used to modify the compatibility. The relationships among components, structure, and properties of the PP composites were studied. The results show that adding nano-CaCO3 improved the mechanical properties of the materials. Adding PET fiber increased the rigidity and toughness but the tensile strength decreased. PP-g-MA modified the compatibility of the components of the composites. Both PET fiber and nano-CaCO3 had nucleation effect on the PP crystallization and slightly induced the formation of β crystals. Ternary β-PP/nano-CaCO3/PET fiber composites contained high β-crystal content, and the compatibilizer exhibited synergy effect with β nucleating agent to further increase the β-crystal content in the blends. Mo’s method could satisfactorily describe the nonisothermal crystallization behavior of ternary composites, whereas Jeziorny and Ozawa methods failed to do the same ideally.