Irradiation of Pseudoboehmite-Polypropilene Nanocomposites

Polymeric nanocomposites are hybrid materials, where inorganic nanoscale dimensions substances are dispersed in a polymeric matrix. The fillers have a high surface area, promoting better dispersion in the polymeric matrix and therefore an improvement in physical properties of the composite depending on the homogeneity of the material. The preparation of nanocomposites polymer matrix allows in many cases to find a relationship between low cost due to the use of a lower amount of charge, and a high level of performance. In the present work, nanocomposites of polypropylene with different concentrations of pseudoboehmite obtained by a sol-gel process, and treated with octadecylamine were prepared. After preparation, the samples were irradiated with a 0, 50, 100, 200 e 300kGy radiation dose in an electron accelerator. The pseudoboehmite nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The nanocomposites were characterized by thermal and mechanical tests. The addition of pseudoboehmite promoted a reduction of the melting flow during the production of the composites evidencing the interaction of pseudoboehmite with the polymeric matrix. Because the polypropylene is a semicrystalline polymer, when exposed to the irradiation process, their morphology was modified due to scission mechanisms of the polymer chains.