The formation of the crystalline phase of polypropylene in the presence of four different types of CaCO3 was studied. All composites were prepared by melt mixing and extrusion and the concentration of CaCO3 was maintained at 5 wt %. Furthermore, in another series of composites, 5 wt % of polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) was added for comparison. The tensile strength, flexural modulus and impact resistance of the composites were determined. The composites were also analyzed by DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) and WAXD (wide angle x-ray diffractometry) in order to understand and quantify the beta crystalline phase. The results indicated that the composite having the smallest CaCO3 size and PP-g-MA presented the best combined mechanical properties, therefore, the highest impact resistance, flexural modulus and tensile strength were observed, which were attributed to the proportionally higher concentration of beta crystalline phase.
Polypropylene composite; impact resistance; toughening
