• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.382-387
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• 2015

The dispersion of calcium carbonate ($CaCO_3$) in polypropylene (PP) and the effect of $CaCO_3$ size on the crystallinity of PP were studied. Polymer composite usually suffers from the brittleness when reinforced with inorganic fillers. The problem is generally related to the size and dispersion of fillers. First, the dispersion was studied for the nanosize $CaCO_3$ with 15~40 nm average diameter. To enhance the dispersibility in PP, the surface of the $CaCO_3$ was treated with sodium lignosulfonate (SLS). $CaCO_3$/PP composites were prepared via melt compounding. The $CaCO_3$ coated with more than 3 wt% SLS was uniformly distributed within the PP matrix, while the uncoated $CaCO_3$ formed aggregated structures in the PP. Even with 30 wt%, the SLS-$CaCO_3$ was well dispersed in the PP matrix. Also, the transition enthalpy of $CaCO_3$/PP increased and the full-width of half maximum of the crystallization peak decreased regardless of SLS coating and size of $CaCO_3$. However, the crystallinity of PP was more influenced by nano $CaCO_3$. These results imply that the nano $CaCO_3$ coated with SLS may reduce the brittleness of polymer composites.