Influence of calcined and hexadecyltrimethoxysilane modified kaolin on morphology,tensile,and thermal properties of hybrid thermoplastic composites

The purpose of this study is to investigate the incorporation effect of kaolin clay on the mechanical and thermal properties of PP/kaolin composites. Its performance is studied as a function of powder content in the different particle size. To improve the dispersion of the mineral clay and the interfacial interactions between matrix and filler, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) was used as a compatibilizer. Also, the filler surface was modified with a silane-coupling agent (hexadecyltrimethoxysilane). The change of the kaolin structure into metakaolin by calcination was carried at 600°C. The results show that silane modified kaolin leads to a better dispersion and to a better mechanical and thermal properties. However, addition of untreated kaolin increases E− modulus of about 32 at 5% wt content. Elongation at break was also enhanced in the presence of calcined and silane modified kaolin as compared to untreated composites. Thermal stability was found to increase with 2.5% of compatibilizer in PP/kaolin composites.