In this paper, the elaboration and characterization of recycled polypropylene/Tunisian
clay nanocomposites has been investigated. When recycled, polypropylene polymer is
degraded and has poorer mechanical and rheological properties. To overcome this
problem, we proposed to incorporate Tunisian clay nanoparticles in recycled
polypropylene (rPP) matrix. The incorporation of Tunisian clay was performed in
molten state using maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) as
compatibilizer. The dispersion of clay in rPP polymer was evaluated by scanning
electron microscopy and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy. Thus, Tunisian clay
was more dispersed in nanocomposites with the increase of Tunisian clay loading. In
dead, the incorporation of silicate layers gave rise to a considerable increase of the static
viscosity demonstrating the reinforcing effect of Tunisian clay nanofillers on rPP
matrix. However, the increasing trend of morphological and rheological properties is
lower when the clay content exceeds 5%
