Abstract
This paper presented a novel approach to prepare PP/silica nanocomposites. First, PPw-g-KH570 (γ-methacryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane) was obtained by pre-irradiation grafting method and characterized by FTIR and TGA. Then the non-aqueous sol–gel gelation kinetics of TEOS (tetraethoxysilane)-formic acid system in xylene was researched. Subsequently PPw/silica hybrid was obtained by in situ non-aqueous sol–gel reaction of TEOS in the presence of PPw-g-KH570 solution in xylene. Finally PP/silica nanocomposites were prepared by blending of PP matrix and PPw/silica hybrid. The mechanism of in situ formed PPw/silica hybrid was proposed. The morphology of PPw/silica hybrid and microstructures of PP/silica nanocomposites were characterized by TEM and SEM. The mechanical and thermal properties of PP/silica nanocomposites were also well studied by tensile tests and DSC. It was showed that the nanosilica particles were well dispersed in PPw/silica hybrid with the aid of grafting KH570 due to co-condensation by grafted KH570 and TEOS. PPw/silica hybrid was well dispersed in PP matrix with good compatibility and strong interactions. The resulted PP/silica nanocomposites possessed better performance than that of pure PP matrix.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beecroft LL, Ober CK (1997) Nanocomposite materials for optical applications. Chem Mater 9:1302–1317
Innocenzi P, Brusatin G (2001) Fullerene-based organic-inorganic nanocomposites and their applications. Chem Mater 13:3126–3139
Gleiter H (1992) Nanostructured materials. Adv Mater 4:474–481
Novak BM (1993) Hybrid nanocomposite materials-between inorganic glasses and organic polymers. Adv Mater 5:422–433
Ou CF, Hsu MC (2007) Preparation and characterization of cyclo olefin copolymer (COC)/silica nanoparticle composites by solution blending. J Polym Res 14:373–378
Hong RY, Fu HP, Zhang YJ, Liu L, Wang J, Li HZ, Zheng Y (2007) Surface-modified silica nanoparticles for reinforcement of PMMA. J Appl Polym Sci 105:2176–2184
Pluta M, Paul MA, Alexandre M, Dubois P (2006) Plasticized polylactide/clay nanocomposites. I. The role of filler content and its surface organo-modification on the physico-chemical properties. J Polym Sci Part B Polym Phys 44:299–311
Yudin VE, Divoux GM, Otaigbe JU, Svetlichnyi VM (2005) Synthesis and rheological properties of oligoimide/montmorillonite nanocomposites. Polymer 46:10866–10872
Jana SC, Jain S (2001) Dispersion of nanofillers in high performance polymers using reactive solvents as processing aids. Polymer 42:6897–6905
Wu CL, Zhang MQ, Rong MZ et al (2002) Tensile performance improvement of low nanoparticles filled-polypropylene composites. Compos Sci Technol 62:1327–1340
Zhang H, Zhang Z, Friedrich K, Eger C (2006) Property improvements of in situ epoxy nanocomposites with reduced interparticle distance at high nanosilica content. Acta Mater 54:1833–1842
Muh E, Frey H, Klee JE, Mulhaupt R (2001) Organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites prepared by means of sol-gel condensation of bismethacrylatesilanes in reactive diluents. Adv Funct Mater 11:425–429
Alam TM, Assink RA, Loy DA (1996) Hydrolysis and esterification in organically modified alkoxysilanes: a 29Si NMR investigation of methyltrimethoxysilane. Chem Mater 8:2366–2374
Dubitsky Y, Zaopo A, Zannoni G, Zetta L (2000) 1H NMR study of the hydrolysis of vinyltrialkoxysilanes. Mater Chem Phys 64:45–53
Altmann S, Pfeiffer J (2003) The hydrolysis/condensation behaviour of methacryloyloxyalkylfunctional alkoxysilanes: structure-reactivity relations. Monatsh Chem 134:1081–1092
Moore EP Jr, Larson GA (1996) Polypropylene handbook. Hanser, Munich
Dou QZ, Zhu XM, Peter K, Demco DE, Moller M, Melian C (2008) Preparation of polypropylene/silica composites by in situ sol–gel processing using hyperbranched polyethoxysiloxane. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 48:51–60
Sun DH, Zhang R, Liu ZM, Huang Y, Wang Y, He J, Han BX, Yang GY (2005) Polypropylene/silica nanocomposites prepared by in situ sol–gel reaction with the aid of CO2. Macromolecules 38:5617–5624
Mizutani Y, Nago S (1999) Microporous polypropylene films containing ultrafine silica particles. J Appl Polym Sci 72:1489–1494
Jain S, Goossens H, Picchioni F, Magusin P, Mezari B, Duin MV (2005) Synthetic aspects and characterization of polypropylene-silica nanocomposites prepared via solid-state modification and sol–gel reactions. Polymer 46:6666–6681
Sharp KG (1994) A two-component, non-aqueous route to silica gel. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 2:35–41
Yazdani-Pedrama M, Vegaa H, Quijada R (2001) Melt functionalization of polypropylene with methyl esters of itaconic acid. Polymer 42:4751–4758
Yang SJ, Song GJ, Zhao YG, Yang C, She XL (2007) Mechanism of a one-step method for preparing silane grafting and cross-linking polypropylene. Polym Eng Sci 47:1004–1008
Jiao CM, Wang ZZ, Gui Z, Hu Y (2005) Silane grafting and crosslinking of ethylene-octene copolymer. Eur Polym J 41:1204–1211
Blackadder DA, Le Poidevin GJ (1978) Dissolution of polypropylene in organic solvents: 4. Nature of the solvent. Polymer 19:483–488
Moad G (1999) The synthesis of polyolefin graft copolymers by reactive extrusion. Prog Polym Sci 24:81–142
Sun SS, Li CZ, Zhang L, Du HL, Burnell-Gray JS (2006) Effects of surface modification of fumed silica on interfacial structures and mechanical properties of poly(vinyl chloride) composites. Eur Polym J 42:1643–1652
Jal PK, Sudarshan M, Saha A (2004) Synthesis and characterization of nanosilica prepared by precipitation method. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 240:173–178
Tan XM, Xu YS, Wang CL (2006) Pre-irradiation-induced graft reaction of maleic anhydride onto polypropylene. Radiat Eff Defect S 161:529–535
An YJ, Zhang ZJ, Bi WG, Wang YH, Tang T (2008) Characterization of high melt strength polypropylene synthesized via silane grafting initiated by in situ heat induction reaction. J Appl Polym Sci 110:3727–3732
Demjen Z, Pukanszky B (1997) Effect of surface coverage of silane treated CaCO3 on the tensile properties of polypropylene composites. Polym Compos 18:741–747
Wang Q, Xia HS, Zhang CH (2001) Preparation of polymer/inorganic nanoparticles composites through ultrasonic irradiation. J Appl Polym Sci 80:1478–1488
Tan XM, Xu YS, Jia GW, Cai N (2009) Polypropylene/silica nanocomposites prepared by in situ melt ultrasonication. Polym Compos 30:835–840
Svehlova V, Poloucek E (1994) Mechanical properties of talc-filled polypropylene: influence of filler content, filler particle size and quality of dispersion. Die Angew Makromol Chem 214:91–99
He DY, Jiang BZ (1993) The elastic modulus of filled polymer composites. J Appl Polym Sci 49:617–621
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Chonglin Wang, Director of Tianjin Institute of Technical Physics, China, for supporting the pre-irradiation grafting work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Qian, J., Zhang, H., Cheng, G. et al. Polypropylene wax (PPw)/silica hybrid by in situ non-aqueous sol–gel process for preparation of PP/silica nanocomposites. J Sol-Gel Sci Technol 56, 300–309 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-010-2306-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10971-010-2306-6