Influence of processing and clay type on nanostructure and stability of polypropylene–clay nanocomposites

Melt processing is a critical step in the manufacture of polymer articles and is even more critical when dealing with inhomogeneous polymer–clay nanocomposites systems. The chemical composition, and in particular the clay type and its organic modification, also plays a major contribution in determining the final properties and in particular the thermal and long-term oxidative stability of the resulting polymer nanocomposites. Proper selection and tuning of the process variable should, in principle, lead to improved characteristics of the fabricated product. With multiphase systems containing inorganic nanoclays, however, this is not straightforward and it is often the case that the process conditions are chosen initially to improve one or more desired properties at the expense of others.