Study on foaming quality and toughness of polypropylene/basalt fiber composites controlled with POE⁃g⁃MAH

doi:10.19491/j.issn.1001-9278.2025.05.005

Abstract

Abstract:

There are some limitations in the application of ordinary polypropylene （PP）/basalt fiber （BF） foamed composites due to their poor foaming quality and toughness. In this study， maleic anhydride⁃grafted polyolefin elastomer （POE⁃g⁃MAH） was used as a compatibilizer to modify PP/BF composites， and the PP/BF foam composites were prepared at different contents of POE⁃g⁃MAH through a chemical foaming secondary mold opening process. The foaming quality and toughness of PP/BF composites controlled by POE⁃g⁃MAH were investigated by rheological， morphological， and mechanical measurements. The results indicated that the addition of POE⁃g⁃MAH improved the foam quality of the PP/BF foam composites. The composites exhibited optimal performance together with the best foam quality at a POE⁃g⁃MAH content of 6 wt%， and their foam cell size and density was 64.58 μm and 1.2×10⁶ cells/cm³， respectively. Furthermore， the toughness of the PP/BF foamed composites was enhanced with an increase in the content of POE⁃g⁃MAH， demonstrating improved notch impact strength and fracture elongation. Specifically， the composite containing 6 wt% POE⁃g⁃MAH showed notch impact strength of 4.33 kJ/cm²， which increased by 84.25 % compared to the composite without POE⁃g⁃MAH.

Key words: maleic anhydride?grafted polyolefin elastomer, polypropylene, foam quality, toughness

CLC Number:

TQ325.1⁺4

ZHU Nenggui, JIANG Tuanhui, LI Shengnan, SHEN Chao, ZENG Xiangbu, QIN Shuhao, GONG Wei. Study on foaming quality and toughness of polypropylene/basalt fiber composites controlled with POE⁃g⁃MAH[J]. China Plastics, 2025, 39(5): 30-35.

Figures/Tables 10

样品名称	PP/份	BF/份	POE⁃g⁃MAH/份
PP/BF	90	10	0
PP/BF⁃1	90	10	1
PP/BF⁃2	90	10	2
PP/BF⁃4	90	10	4
PP/BF⁃6	90	10	6

Tab.1. Formula of the PP/BF composites

工艺条件	注塑温度/℃	注塑压力/%	注塑速度/%	模具温度/℃	初始厚度（h₁） /mm	最终厚度（h₂）/mm	开模距离/mm
参数	190	45	85	80	3.2	4	0.8

Tab.2. Process conditions of preparing PP/BF foam composites

Fig.1. Schematic diagram of the PP/BF foam composite material prepared by secondary mold opening （core pulling） method

Fig.2. Rheological properties of the PP/BF composites with different POE⁃g⁃MAH contents

Fig.3. SEM images of cross⁃section of the PP/BF composite materials with different POE⁃g⁃MAH contents

样品名称	拔出的BF占比 /%	未拔出的BF占比/%
PP/BF	57.2	42.8
PP/BF⁃1	55.4	44.6
PP/BF⁃2	51.2	48.8
PP/BF⁃4	45.6	54.4
PP/BF⁃6	41.8	58.2

Tab.3. Fiber extraction in cross⁃section of the PP/BF composite materials with different POE⁃g⁃MAH contents

Fig.4. Compatibility mechanism of POE⁃g⁃MAH in the PP/BF composite materials

Fig.5. SEM images and pore size distribution of various PP/BF foam composite materials modified with POE⁃g⁃MAH

Fig.6. Cell size and density of the PP/BF foam composite materials

Fig.7. Mechanical properties of the PP/BF composites with different POE⁃g⁃MAH contents

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