Aging of modified glass-reinforced polypropylene in air and in antifreeze

The thermal stability and the mechanical properties of modified and unmodified glass-reinforced polypropylene during aging in air (135°C) and antifreeze (115°C) with exposure up to 80 days was investigated in this study. Aging leads to progressive phase separation. On the contrary, the original modified composite is characterized by a dense structure; aging leads to the structure compacting and pore size decreases. Unmodified composite displays a drastic failure of the mechanical properties after 10 days of heating. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 76: 807–813, 2000