Viscoelastic Properties of Polypropylene Reinforced with Mica in Tα and Tαc Transition Zones

Abstract EN

The viscoelastic properties of mica-reinforced polypropylene (PP) was studied in temperature range between −30°C and 120°C.

WLF equation permits determining the free volume fraction in α and αc transitions regions.

It was shown that the value of this parameter is lower for αc transition, indicating that the free volume and thermal expansion of α region is more than that of αc region.

At a 40% loading level, it was shown that the storage and loss modulus of mica-filled PP increases dramatically (in comparison with the pure polypropylene).

The relative modulus does not change significantly at glassy state but it increases for the temperature higher than Tg.

It was also shown that mica does not affect the glass transition temperature but results in an increase in αc transition.