• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.367-367
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• 2006

With poly (ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) ionomer (i.e. Surlyn) as a compatibilizer, PP/organoclay (Cloisite(R)20A) nanocomposites were prepared via melt compounding in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. For comparison, the widely used PP-g-MA was also used as a reference. The content of organoclay was fixed at 5phr based on the total weight of polymer resins. The structures of nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, rheometry in small amplitude oscillatory shear, SEM, and TEM, respectively. It was found that PP/Surlyn/OMMT nanocomposites displayed higher intercalation degree and better dispersion effect than the corresponding PP/PP-g-MA/OMMT counterpart. Additionally, their mechanical properties and wettability were measured.

• International Journal of Automotive Technology
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• v.6 no.6
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• pp.665-670
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• 2005

Nanocomposites of polypropylene with organically modified clays were compounded on a twin-screw extruder by two-step melt compounding of three components, i.e., polypropylene, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA), and organically modified clay. The effect of PP-g-MA compatibilizers, including PH-200, Epolene-43, Polybond-3002, Polybond-3200, with a wide range of maleic anhydride (MA) content and molecular weight was examined. Morphologies of nanocomposites and their mechanical properties such as stiffness, strength, and impact resistance were investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the dispersion morphology of clay particles seemed to be determined in the first compounding step and the further dispersion of clays didn't occur in the second compounding step. As the ratio of PP-g-MA to clay increased, the clay particles were dispersed more uniformly in the matrix resin. As the dispersibility of clays was enhanced, the reinforcement effect of the clays increased, however impact resistance decreased.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.6-14
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• 2008

Polypropylene (PP)-layered silicate nanocomposites were developed using a new processing method involving a supercritical carbon dioxide ($scCO_2$)-assisted co-rotating twin-screw extrusion process. The nanocomposites were prepared through two step extrusion processes. In the first step, the PP/clay mixture was extruded with $CO_2$ injected into the barrel of the extruder and the resulting foamed extrudate was cooled and pelletized. In the second step, the foamed extrudate was extruded with venting to produce the final PP/clay nanocomposites without $CO_2$. In this study, organophilic-clay and polypropylene matrix were used. Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) was used as a compatibilizer. This study focused on the effect of $scCO_2$ on the dispersion characteristics of the clays into a PP matrix and the rheological properties of the layered silicate based PP nanocomposites. The dispersion properties of clays in the nanocomposites as well as the rheological properties of the nanocomposites were examined as a function of the PP-g-MA concentration. The degree of dispersion of the clays in the nanocomposites was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscope. Various rheological properties of the nanocomposites were measured using a rotational rheometer. In the experimental results, the $scCO_2$ assisted continuous manufacturing extrusion system was used to successfully produce the organophilic-clay filled PP nanocomposites. It was found that $scCO_2$ had a measurable effect on the clay dispersion in the polymer matrix and the melt intercalation of a polymer into clay layers.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.49-56
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• 2006

The waste tire powder is modified with allylamine in the presence of ultraviolet radiation and the influence of surface modification on the thermal and rheological properties of polypropylene/waste tire powder composites was investigated. X-ray diffraction studies of PP/waste tire powder composite without compatibilizer, such as maleic anhydride-g-polypropylene (MA-PP), shows the increase in peak intensity of ${\beta}$ crystalline peaks, whereas it completely disappears in the presence of the MA-PP. Differential scanning calorimetry results further supported the above fact. The melt viscosities and storage modulus of the composites with modified waste tire powder show higher value than that of composites with unmodified powder and it is attributed to the interaction between amine group on modified powder surface and maleic anhydride of MA-PP.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.36-45
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• 2015

In this study, various sizes of waste ground rubber tire (WGRT) were devulcanized by a single screw extruder equipped with a sonicator in front of the die, and waste PP and devulcanized waste ground rubber tire (DWGRT) composites were prepared by an intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder. The crosslink density and percent devulcanization of WGRT and DWGRT for 40, 80 and 140 meshes were calculated. The mechanical properties of the composites were compared with each other. The effect of SEBS-g-MA as a compatibilizer was investigated on mechanical properties of both waste PP/WGRT and waste PP/DWGRT composites. The crosslink density was decreased with decreasing the WGRT size. On the other hand, the percent devulcanization was increased by adding the smaller size of WGRT. Also, tensile strength, impact strength and elongation at break of the composite with DWGRT were higher than those with WGRT. Especially, mechanical properties of the composites were significantly increased by adding the smaller size of WGRT and DWGRT. Addition of SEBS-g-MA into both waste PP/(D)WGRT composites exhibited better impact strength and elongation at break than the composites themselves.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.235-243
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• 2008

The aim of this study is to explore the possibility of incorporating supercritical carbon dioxide ($scCO_2$) into twin screw extrusion process for the production of polypropylene-clay nanocomposite (PPCN). The $CO_2$ is used as a reversible plasticizer which is expected to rapidly transport polymeric chains into the galleries of clay layers in its supercritical condition inside the extruder barrel and to expand the gallery spacings in its sub-critical state upon emerging from die. The structure and properties of the resulting PPCNs are characterized using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), rheometry, thermogravimetry and mechanical testing. In the processing of the PPCNs with $scCO_2$, optimum $scCO_2$ concentration and screw speed which maximized the degree of intercalation of clay layers were observed. The WAXD result reveals that the PP/PP-g-MA/clay system treated with $scCO_2$ has more exfoliated structure than that without $scCO_2$ treatment, which is supported by TEM result. $scCO_2$ processing enhanced the thermal stability of PPCN hybrids. From the measurement of linear viscoelastic property, a solid-like behavior at low frequency was observed for the PPCNs with high concentration of PP-g-MA. The use of $scCO_2$ generally increased Young's modulus and tensile strength of PPCN hybrids.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.358-363
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• 2009

Maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene has been widely used to improve the interfacial interaction between the components in PP/polar polymer blends and PP/filler composites and to maximize the physical properties and thermal properties. In this paper. the maleic anhydride (MAH)-grafted polypropylene (co-PP) was fabricated through reactive extrusion process with di-cumyl peroxide (DCP) as an initiator. The grafting degree of MAH depending on the contents of DCP and MAH was investigated by FT-IR spectra and chemical titration. The grafting degree increased with increasing MAH concentration and also showed maximum value at 0.06 wt% of DCP concentration. Melt flow index (MFI) of the grafted copolymer was increased with increasing the contents of MAH. The DSC and TGA analysis data indicate the melting temperature and thermal degradation of PP depending on the grafting degree of MAH.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.291-291
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• 2006

Two different sources of clay, Na-Bentonite (Thai local clay) and Na-Montmorillonite were modified with Hexadodeccyltrimethyl ammonium bromide. The nanocomposites of polypropylene were successfully prepared via melt blending in a co-rotating twin screw extruder by using PP-g-MA as a compatibilizer at various contents of organoclays. The morphology of nanocomposites was investigated by using XRD and SEM. The results showed that the intercalated and exfoliated structures were obtained. The thermal behavior was also studied by using DSC and TGA. The degradation temperature of filled PP was greater than that of unfilled PP by 20%. And, the tensile strength and modulus were improved when a small amount of organoclays were added.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.404-410
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• 2008

In order to obtain 'value added products' from polypropylene (PP)/waste ground rubber tire powder (WGRT) composites, PP/WGRT microcellular foams were prepared via supercritical carbon dioxide. The effects of blend composition and processing condition on the cell size, cell density and relative density of PP/WGRT micro-cellular composites were studied. The results indicated that the microcellular structure was dependent on blend composition and processing condition. An increased content of waste ground rubber tire powder (WGRT) and maleic anhydride-grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS-g-MA) reduced the cell size, and raised the cell density and relative density, whereas a higher saturation pressure increased the cell size, and reduced the cell density and relative density. With increasing saturation temperature, the cell size increased and the relative density decreased, whereas the cell density initially increased and then decreased.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.211-217
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• 2011

Wood Polymer Composite (WPC) has attracted a great deal of attention in environmental industries due to renewable resources, processability, excellent physical properties and logging regulations for application to housing units and engineering construction materials. In this study, commercial WPCs were prepared by using a modular intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder. The effect of three main factors such as wood flour contents, coupling agent concentrations and pre-treatment of wood flour on the properties of WPCs was extensively investigated. It was found that tensile strength and thermal stability were decreased with increasing wood flour contents whereas the water absorption was increased. Addition of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) into WPC exhibited better physical properties. On the contrary, the water absorption was slightly decreased with PP-g-MA. Finally the sample, which was prepared with pre-treated wood flour, represented the highest tensile strength. However, the water absorption of the sample was increased due to the transition of crystalline structure of cellulose.