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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
Study of rheological properties of polypropylene/organoclay hybrid materials
Suzhu Yu1, Songlin Liu, Jianhong Zhao
1Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, 71 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 638075.
Abstract:
Polypropylene nanocomposites reinforced with organic modified montmorillonite clay have been fabricated by melt compounding using extrusion. The morphology of the composites is studied with transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The melt-state rheological properties of the nanocomposites have been investigated as a function of temperature and organoclay loading. It is found that the organoclays are intercalated and dispersed evenly in the matrix. The storage and loss moduli of the hybrid composites decrease with temperature and increase with organoclay concentration. Both polypropylene and its composites demonstrate a melt-like rheological behavior, indicating the low degree of exfoliation of the organoclay. A shear thinning behavior is found for both polypropylene and its composites, but the onset of shear thinning for organoclay composites occurs at lower shear rates.
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