In this study, a blend of polypropylene (PP) and two types of thermoplastic polyolefin elastomers (TPO) were prepared by melt mixing. The TPOs were either ethylene‐ or propylene‐based copolymer. The mechanical response and morphology of the blends were investigated using tensile and impact tests and scanning electron microscopy technique. There was significant increase in the impact strength of the TPO‐modified PP, which was an outcome of fine dispersion of TPO inclusions. In particular, the blends containing PP‐based TPO exhibited dramatic enhancement in toughness energy as featured by a plastic deformation in tensile test. The brittle‐tough transition had several deviations from theoretical models, in which generally the interparticle distance criterion was realized as a single parameter, only controlled the transition of brittle to tough behavior. Moreover, the brittle‐tough transition in tensile and impact mode tests was not coincident in the blend with a broad distribution of interparticle distance. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44068.

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In this article, the mechanical properties of commercial bulk molding compounds (BMC) based on the unsaturated polyester resin were maximized by optimizing glass fiber weight (FW) and fiber length (FL). An empirical design was utilized to study the influence of each parameter and its interaction on responses. Accordingly, three levels of FW (10, 15, and 20 wt.%) and FL (3, 6, and 12 mm) were used. A full factorial design was utilized to investigate the effect of each variable and their interaction on all responses. The addition of FW improved all the results except flexibility. In addition, all responses increased except the modulus of composites by increasing FL. The compound with 15 wt.% FW and 12 mm FL was chosen as the best toughness-stiffnessstrength equilibrium among the specimens based on optimization outcomes.In addition, the R 2 obtained from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and normal probability plots showed good compliance between the empirical results and those anticipated using a full factorial model.

This study focuses on the possibility of improving performance properties of polyamide-6 (PA6) nanocomposite films for packaging application using nanoclay masterbatch. Different concentrations of nanoclay in PA6 were prepared through melt-mixing of particulate nanoclay and nanoclay masterbatches in a twin screw compounder, then film samples were molded using a hot press. Oxygen barrier properties were then measured and interpreted on the basis of different theoretical approaches. Also, a correlation between morphology and properties of the studied nanocomposites was observed, and all prepared nanocomposites exhibited performance improvement with increasing the nanoclay content. The masterbatch-based nanocomposite films showed more exfoliated regions that leading to the enhancement of the mechanical properties. Gas permeability through nanocomposite films decreased significantly just by loading a small amount of nanoclay. However, surprising behavior in oxygen permeability observed at higher levels of nanoclay in masterbatch-based nanocomposite was attributed to the decreased crystallinity of PA6 matrix. V C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 125: E2-E8, 2012

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