Oxygen barrier property of polypropylene-polyether treated clay nanocomposite

Polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites were obtained by solution blending of polyether treated montmorillonite and PP, with a coupling agent of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA). The composition of the inorganic clay was varied in 1, 2 and 5 phr (parts of clay per hundred of PP by mass) while films of the composites were obtained via compression molding. Wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) showed nanocomposites in which silicate layers were exfoliated and intercalated with respect to the different clay ratios. The morphology and gas permeability of hybrids prepared with organoclay were compared. Morphological studies using transmission electron microscopy showed most clay layers were dispersed uniformly in the PP matrix. Some tactoids of agglomerated nanoparticles were detected, as clay content increased. The oxygen permeability for all the hybrids for clay loadings were reduced by 30% of the corresponding values for pure PP.