In this research, the melt blending technique was used to prepare various polypropylene (PP) based nanocomposites containing 1,3,5,7 wt% montmorillonite (MMT). A commercial organoclay (denoted K-10) served as the filler for PP matrix and the polypropylene grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) was used as compatibalizer. The morphology of the nanocomposites was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), results of which showed that the nanocomposites are best described as intercalated-exfoliated systems. PP/MMT nanocomposites showed good thermal stability in the TGA analysis. Introducion of ~ 3% MMT in the nanocomposites increased the onset temperature of the degradation by 27.5 °C compared to that of pure PP. Test results showed that PP/clay nanocomposites had an enhanced tensile strength, hardness and decreased wear rates.
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