Polypropylene composites reinforced with alumina nanoparticles and short carbon fibers

Abstract

In this work, composite materials based on polypropylene (PP) reinforced with alumina nanoparticles (Al₂O₃) and short carbon fibers (SCF), were developed, aiming at obtaining light materials, with high rigidity, mechanical resistance and thermal stability, capable of being processed in the machinery conventionally used in the polymer industry. For this purpose, polypropylene was processed with alumina, at levels defined through the response surface methodology inserted in the Minitab software, in order to evaluate the effect of incorporating alumina and polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) used as a compatibilizer agent in the samples. The composite that

presented the best mechanical properties, in this case, the hybrid composite PP/PP-g-MA/Al₂O₃ was used as matrix. The new composites were prepared by filling this matrix with 6% wt. of alumina and variable contents of carbon fiber, between 10 wt% and 15 wt%. The tensile mechanical properties of the materials were evaluated according to standardized techniques. The materials obtained showed stiffness and mechanical strength superior to that presented by polypropylene.