Preparation of EPR/silica filler by a co-irradiation method forming PP/EPR/silica nanocomposites

This paper presents a novel approach to prepare ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR)/silica filler by co-irradiation method forming polypropylene (PP)/EPR/silica nanocomposites. The grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) on EPR was first studied by co-irradiation in the micro-suspension without any chemical initiator, and the effects of MAH concentration and the total co-irradiation dose on the graft degree of MAH were investigated. Then PP/EPR/silica nanocomposites were successfully prepared by blending of PP matrix and EPR/silica filler, which was obtained by co-irradiation using a mixture of EPR/MAH microsuspension in xylene and tetraethoxysilane/KH560 sol in formic acid. FTIR and SEM results showed that the reactions between MAH on EPR chains and KH560 surrounding silica particles were adopted to form the EPR/silica filler with strong bonding and well silica dispersion. Mechanical properties of PP/EPR/silica nanocomposites with different silica contents and the comparisons with PP, PP/EPR and PP/silica films w...