Effect of nanoclay amount and compatibilizer presence on thermal, morphological and mechanical behaviour of nanoclay reinforced composite polypropylene cast film

Pure PP film without compatibilizer and nanoclay, nanoclay reinforced PP film without compatibilizer and nanoclay reinforced PP films with compatibilizer were produced to study the effect of nanoclay amount and compatibilizer presence on thermal, morphological and mechanical properties of films. Reinforced films were produced with 1 % and 3 % nanoclay contents with 3 different compatibilizer amounts to examine if nanoclay addition changes properties of the films in the same manner with different compatibilizer amounts. Melting points of the films slightly increase as the nanoclay content increases. Decomposition temperatures increase, as the nanoclay content increases. As the nanoclay content increases, tensile, burst and tear strengths for the reinforced films decrease. It can be observed that the increase in nanoclay content lowers strain and extension values for reinforced films due to nanoclay dispersion.