REGULATION OF THE STABILITY OF LIQUID MICROJETS OF POLYPROPYLENE IN A COPOLYAMIDE MATRIX AT THE EXPENSE OF NANOADDITIVES

Abstract

Goal. Investigation of the effect of the concentration of nanoparticles of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and alumina modified with silver (Ag/Al₂O₃) on the decomposition kinetics of liquid microjets of polypropylene (PP) in a copolyamide (CPA) matrix and the possibility of controlling the microfibrillar morphology of the PP/CPA blend.

Methodology. The components of the blend were mixed on a screw-disk extruder. The kinetics of the disintegration of liquid microjets was studied using a technique based on the theory of destabilization of a liquid cylinder under the action of capillary waves. The degree of dispersion of polypropylene in the matrix was evaluated by photomicrographs of cross sections of the extrudates of the blends.

Results. Nanoadditives of the original and silver-modified aluminum oxide with a content of (0.1 ÷ 3.0) wt.% In the blend increase the compatibility of the components: the surface tension (γ_αβ) in the compositions of all compositions decreases. Ag/Al₂O₃ nanoparticles are more effective than aluminum oxide nanoparticles - the γ_αβ value decreases by 9.6 and 5.3 times, respectively, which ensures a high degree of dispersion of the dispersed phase component in the matrix. The disintegration resistance of polypropylene microjets is increasing, as evidenced by a decrease in the instability coefficient (q) and an increase in the microjet lifetime (t_l). The curves of q and t_l dependence on the additive content have an extreme character. The minimum values of the instability coefficient of microjets and the maximum values of their lifetime are achieved at a nanoparticle concentration corresponding to the lowest interfacial tension.

Scientific novelty. The positive effect of the investigated nanoadditives on the kinetics of the decomposition of liquid microjets of polypropylene in the copolyamide matrix has been established. The highest modifying effect in the presence of Ag/Al₂O₃ nanoparticles is due to their amphiphilic nature, which ensures the predominant localization of nanoparticles at the interface and a synergistic increase in the degree of compatibility in the PP/CPA system.

Practical significance. The regularities of increasing the stability of liquid microjets to disintegration in polymer blends filled with nanoparticles have been established, which will make it possible to determine the parameters of the processes of mixing and forming fibers and films, in which the microfibrillar structure arising during the flow of the melt will remain unchanged in the products.