Rheological, thermal, and mechanical characterization of fly ash-thermoplastic composites with different coupling agents

Abstract

Composite materials were prepared by mixing fly ash obtained from biomass combustion as filler and isotactic polypropylene (PP) as matrix. Three silane-type coupling agents mainly differing in the size of their functional groups were used to improve the compatibility between both components. Uniaxial tensile tests showed that the incorporation of untreated ash into PP led to stiffer but also more brittle and weaker materials, as Young's modulus significantly increased and tensile strength and elongation at break decreased. Furthermore, an enhancement in storage and loss moduli as well as in composite viscosity was observed with the addition of fly ash. Hardness tests and thermal and fracture surface analyzes revealed tensile test results similar to those mentioned earlier. In summary, after analyzing the effects of the three silanes on mechanical, thermal, morphological, and rheological properties, the silane containing the vinyl functional group (XL10) was selected as the most appropriate for the PP/ash composites investigated. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1722–1730, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers.