Morphology, rheological and mechanical properties of isotropic and anisotropic PP/rPET/GnP nanocomposite samples

Abstract

The effect of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) on the morphology, rheological, and mechanical properties of isotropic and anisotropic polypropylene (PP)/recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET)-based nanocomposite are reported. All the samples were prepared by melt mixing. PP/rPET and PP/rPET/GnP isotropic sheets were prepared by compression molding, whereas the anisotropic fibers were spun using a drawing module of a capillary viscometer. The results obtained showed that the viscosity of the blend is reduced by the presence of GnP due to the lubricating effect of the graphene platelets. However, the Cox–Merz rule is not respected. Compared to the PP/rPET blend, the GnP led to a slight increase in the elastic modulus. However, it causes a slight decrease in elongation at break. Morphological analysis revealed a poor adhesion between the PP and PET phases. Moreover, GnPs distribute around the droplets of the PET phase with a honey-like appearance. Finally, the effect of the orientation on both systems gives rise not only to fibers with higher modulus values, but also with high deformability and a fibrillar morphology of the dispersed PET phase. A fragile-ductile transition driven by the orientation was observed in both systems.