Investigation on the effect of nanoclay on physical and tensile properties of nanocomposite made from reed residues

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of using reed flour and different contents of montmorillonite (nanoclay) nanoparticles on the physical and tensile properties of polypropylener/reed flour/nano clay composite. The amount of coupling agent and reed flour was constant at 5% and 40%, respectively and nanoclay content, adjusted at four levels of 0, 1, 3 and 5% were considered. The materials were mixed in an internal mixer and the samples were prepared by injection molding method. The specimens were tested in accordance with EN ISO 527 standard test method for tensile properties (tensile strength and module) and elongation at break. Physical properties such as water absorption and thickness swelling were measured. The results of tensile moduli and strengths, elongation at break and physical properties (water absorption) showed improvement by the addition of nanoclay up to 3%

INVESTIGATION OF THE MORPHOLOGICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF WASTE NEWSPRINT/ RECYCLED POLYPROPYLENE/ NANOCLAY COMPOSITE

The main objective of this research was to study the potential of waste polypropylene and waste newsprint fiber for making wood-plastic nanocomposites. We used 30 wt.% waste newsprint fiber and 10 wt.% compatilizer in this study. Nanoclay was used at two levels: 2.5 and 5% by wt. Materials were mixed with either recycled or virgin polypropylene. The effects of nanoclay (NC) on the mechanical and thermal properties were also studied. The improvements in tensile properties of the blended composites with the addition of NC were further supported by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) data. Thermal degradation behavior of the composites showed that the degradation temperatures shifted to higher values after addition of nanoclay. The XRD data showed that the relative intercalation of composites with 2.5% nanoclay was higher than 5% nanoclay. The experimental results demonstrated that the waste materials could be used as appropriate alternative raw materials for making low cost wood-plastic composites (WPCs)