Boehmite nanorod‐reinforced‐polyethylenes and ethylene/1‐octene thermoplastic elastomer nanocomposites prepared by in situ olefin polymerization and melt compounding

Nanocomposites of polyethylene (HDPE) and poly(ethylene-co-1-octene) thermoplastic elastomers, both containing boehmites with variable sizes, shapes, and aspect ratios (1–20), were prepared by means of in situ olefin polymerization and melt compounding. The in situ olefin polymerization in the presence of boehmite nanorods afforded nanocomposites containing 4–8 wt % of boehmite. In an alternative process, the in situ olefin polymerization was used to produce polyolefins with high boehmite content of 50 wt % as masterbatches for polyolefin melt compounding with ethylene homo- and copolymers. The addition of the boehmite nanofillers improved the stiffness without sacrificing high elongation at break. The stiffness, as expressed by Young's modulus, increased with increasing boehmite aspect ratio. In case of thermoplastic elastomer nanocomposites the increase of stiffness was accompanied by a simultaneous increase of elongation at break. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fine dispersion of the polar boehmite nanorods and nanoplatelets within the nonpolar hydrocarbon polymer matrix was obtained without requiring the addition of special dispersing agents or functionalized polyolefin compatibilizers. The comparison of melt compounding of polyethylene with boehmites or polyethylene/boehmite masterbatches revealed that compounding of masterbatches prepared by in situ polymerization filling afforded much finer and more uniform nanoboehmite dispersions. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2755–2765, 2008