The Effect of Polypropylene Grafted Maleic Anhydride on the Polypropylene / Natural Rubber Blends Filled with Cyperus Odoratus

Abstract

Abstract A new thermoplastic blend was developed by using polypropylene (PP) with natural rubber (NR) as the base material. The natural filler is added to enhance the properties of PP/NR blend. Two series of blends under varying conditions were prepared and investigated. The first series was to compare the properties of PP/NR blend with diferent filler loading. Second is to investigate the effect of polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride (PP-MAH) on the properties of PP/NR blend filled with Cyperus Odoratus. Process development, tensile properties, thermal analysis, FTIR analysis and morphological characterization of blends were investigated with the variation of the conditions of the blend. The increasing filler loading decrease the tensile properties of the PP/NR blend as support by morphology study of the PP/NR blends. Icorporation of PP-MAH was resulted in improved tensile and thermal properties compared to uncompatibilized counterparts. The increament in tensile strength was confirmed by the SEM study that showed better dispersion of NR in the PP matrix and improved adhesion between the two phases.