Effect of Talc Fillers Composition on the Properties of

Polypropylene/Talc Composite

Keywords: Polypropylene (PP), Talc, Mechanical properties, Thermal properties, PP/Talc
blends

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of talc content on the mechanical and thermal properties of the
polypropylene was investigated. In the experimental study, five different talc concentrations,
0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 wt%, were added to polypropylene composites. The mechanical properties
such as tensile strength, modulus elasticity, elongation at break and impact strength for notch
tip radius of 1mm were investigated. The mechanical properties of PP/Talc blends does not
improved in terms of tensile strength, impact, modulus elasticity and elongation of break as
the strength decreased with the addition of the talc content increased. For FTIR, it is obvious
that the increased amount of talcum change the functional group of pure PP at certain
wavelength. The DSC results for PP/Talc blends show that the degree of degradation
increased and according to TGA results thermal stability was enhanced with the addition of
talc.

1.0 Introduction

Blending has been widely and effectively used to modify or control the properties of
polymer by appropriately compounding miscible polymers. Miscible polymer blends can
create new materials with completely different properties, and fabricated articles may possess
good mechanical properties (Bajsi et al., 2013). Polypropylene (PP) is well known as an
attractive candidate for many engineering applications because of its excellent chemical
resistance, acceptable range of tensile strength and modulus, good impact strength and
processability and low price (Eroglu, 2007). However, the limitation of PP is its poor
adhesion to the surface of other phases such as rubber or polar materials. This is primarily a
result of the nonpolar nature of PP. The incorporation of proper filler increase interfacial
adhesion between matrix and disperse phase refines blends morphology and therefore leads to
an improvement of processing and application properties of the final material (Varga, 1992).
Various fillers such as graphite, talc and mica are the most often used ingredients that
are added to polypropylene in order to attain cost-effective mechanical properties. The filler
type, content and size, interfacial adhesion and bond strength between matrix and filler and
surface characteristics of the composite can greatly influence the filled system. In a highly
filled polymer system, non-uniformity of properties can exists because of poor dispersion of
the filler in the matrix. A good interfacial adhesion between matrix and filler may improve
the mechanical strength (Zhou et al., 2005).
Filled PP containing talc is used extensively because of a combination of stiffness,
dimensional stability, and, importantly, low cost. Talc is a phyllosilicate mineral with tri-
octahedral layered structure Mg
3
Si
4
O
10
(OH)
2
(Shabanat, 2011). The various mechanical
properties of the final PP compound can be determined in function of the type of talc, talc
composition, particle size, treatment, and on the reinforcement percentage (filler) of the PP.
Its foliated structure gives talc has a relatively high L/D or aspect ratio and when added to PP
this produces a greater increase in the rigidity of PP compared to the use of other mineral
reinforcements. Talc tend to increase the heat deflection temperature (HDT) and hardness of
PP, but decrease its impact resistance or toughness. Consequently, the material becomes more
brittle (Afroze et al., 2012).
Injection process is to ensure the proper development of a good plastic such as smooth
filling and cooling in the setting, in order to meet the requirements to produce quality
products. In the injection process, the most important parameters are temperature (melt
temperature, nozzle temperature, mould temperature), pressure (plasticization pressure,
injection pressure, cavity pressure) and the corresponding role of the various time (injection
time, cooling time) and so on.
Plastic processing temperature is controlled by injection machine barrel. The correct
choice of barrel temperature related to the plastic quality is to ensure a smooth plastic
injection moulding without causing local degradation. In the injection moulding process,
mould temperature is the cooling medium control usually water, which used to determine the
cooling rate of the plastic melt. The lower mould temperature, the faster the cooling. The melt
temperature will decreases more quickly, resulting in melt viscosity injection pressure loss
increases, causing serious and even less filling (Yusoff et al., 2004).
Besides that, injection pressure also can affect the quality of the product produce.
Injection pressure is generated in the screw head melt pressure. In the choice of injection
pressure, injection moulding machine should be considered first to allowed injection
pressure. If injection pressure is too low only in the back leading to a low pressure cavity, the
melt cannot be successfully filled cavity while in the other hand, injection pressure not only
will result in excess product leakage, deformation will result in products, and even the system
overload.


2.0 Experimental

2.1 Materials

Polypropylene in pellet and talc in the particle size of around 2 m was used as a filler
material.
The materials composition were blends manually to produce PP/Talc ternary composites as
shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Compositions of blends used to produce PP/Talc ternary composites (wt %).








The specimens for testing
were prepared by injection
FORMULATION PP (wt%) TALC (wt%)
A0 100 0
A1 95 5
A2 90 10
A3 85 15
A4 80 20
moulding at temperature range 180-190C in dog bone or dumb bell shape. The effect of talc
on the PP were evaluated and characterized through the mechanical, chemical and thermal
properties such as the tensile strengths, Izod impact test, modulus of elasticity, elongation at
break, Fourier transform infared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry
(DSC) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). For mechanical test, the testing were carried
out 5 times and the average value is taken.

2.2 Characterization

Tensile strength: Tensile properties are the most common among various measurement of
mechanical properties. The dimension follow as written in standard ASTM D638. A dumb
bell shaped sample was clamped in the jaws of a testing machine and the required load to
elongate the sample under constant rate is applied. The elongation was recorded.
Izod Impact Test: The impact test was done according to standard ASTM D256. In ASTM
D256, the width and depth of the specimen will be taken into account. The width and depth
of the specimen used in this experiment is approximately 3.0 mm and 10.8 mm. Specimen
were clamped vertically as a cantilever beam. The pendulum hammer was released allowed to
strike the specimen and swing through. Impact strength were calculated by dividing impact
values obtained from the scale by the area of the specimen.

Fourier transform infared (FT-IR) spectroscopy: For the analysis, the sample has to be
pressed on the ATR-crystal which is the measurement interface. From the ATR-crystal, the
IR radiation penetrates slightly few microns into the sample surface. The IR detector of the
FT-IR spectrometer then measured the absorbance resulting from the sample.
Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC): The melting point of PP//Talc blends was
measured using a Mettler Toledo differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) using specimens
weighing 5 mg. The DSC curve was obtained at a heating rate of 20 C/min and the
experiments were carried out in a N
2
atmosphere.
Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA): The specimens were powdered and about 15 mg was
used for the analysis using a Mettler Toledo thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) at a heating
rate of 20 C/min.

3.0 Result and Discussions

3.1 Tensile and impact properties

In the previous study, Eroglu, 2007, has reported that the addition of talc has a slight
increase on the yield and tensile strengths. However, from the Figure 1(a), in general, it is
clearly seen that the addition of talc has decrease the tensile strengths from 5 to 20 wt %. This
can be related to the low possible crystallization of PP and poor adhesion between filler and
matrix. The tensile strengths of the thermoplastic matrix vary with filler used. It is well
known that type of filler, distribution of filler and interaction between matrix and filler are the
most important factor affecting the mechanical properties of binary (PP/filler). Non-
homogenous distribution of filler and weak adhesion between matrix and filler cause
mechanical strength to decrease.
29.723
28.363
27.290
24.530
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 5 10 15 20
A
V
E
R
A
G
E

T
E
N
S
I
L
E

S
T
R
E
N
G
H
T

(
M
P
a
)

TALC CONTENT (wt%)
TENSILE TEST
4.342
3.191
3.755
2.918
2.744
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
0 5 10 15 20
A
V
E
R
A
G
E

S
T
R
E
N
G
H
T

(
k
J
/
m
2
)

TALC CONTENT (wt%)
IMPACT TEST









Figure 1(a): Effect of various PP/talc composition on the tensile properties

The notch impact strength values are given in Figure 1(b). It becomes apparent that
the impact resistance changed depending on the talc concentration. It can be seen from the
figure that impact strength of PP/Talc blends showed a slight decrease for up to 5 wt % talc,
increase at 10 wt% and then a further decrease at higher filler contents. For 0 and 10 wt%
contents of filler particles, the dispersed of talc on the PP is more uniformly distributed and
the effect is higher impact strength. According to Qiu et al., 2013, for higher contents the
decrease in impact strength, may be related to the tendency to form filler agglomerates,
resulting in a poor dispersion of the fillers on the PP.









Figure 1(b): Effect of various PP/talc composition on the impact properties






21.373
18.483
18.462
14.25
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 5 10 15 20
E
L
O
N
G
A
T
I
O
N

A
T

B
R
E
A
K

(
%
)

TALC CONTENT (wt%)
3.380
4.060
2.818
3.250
0.000
0.500
1.000
1.500
2.000
2.500
3.000
3.500
4.000
4.500
0 5 10 15 20
M
O
D
U
L
U
S

O
F

E
L
A
S
T
I
C
I
T
Y

(
M
p
a
)

TALC CONTENT (wt%)
From Figure 1(c) below, in general, the effect of talc composition on the elongation at
break from the obtained results are in good agreement with the literature reported by Eroglu,
2007. As can be seen from the figure, elongation at break decreased with the increase in talc
content from 0 to 20 wt%. Addition of low talc significantly increase elongation at break,
however higher talc contents caused elongation at break to decrease more slowly. According
Zhou et al., 2005, this decrease can be related to the fillers that restrict the mobility of the
matrix and the result of the matrix reinforcement. The results indicate that talc particles
stiffen PP at the cost of some loss in ductility of the composites.









Figure 1(c): Effect of various PP/talc composition on the elongation at break properties

Figure 1(d) shows the effect of talc concentration on the elasticity modulus of PP/talc
composite. Based on the figure, elasticity modulus tends to increase for talc contents up to
10wt %. Elasticity modulus show significant decrease for talc content between 15wt% and
started to increase slightly at 20wt % talc. The highest elasticity modulus is at 4.06 Mpa
which is when the composite filled with 10wt% of talc. However, the results obtained are not
compatible with the results reported by Yousfi et al., 2013, as the highest elastic modulus
should be obtained in presence of highly composition of talc. The increase in elasticity
modulus is related to the rigid filler particles that restrict the mobility and deformability of
the matrix. However, good talc distribution for lower contents is also thought the most
effective factor on higher elasticity modules.









Figure 1(d): Effect of various PP/talc composition on the modulus of elasticity properties
3.2 FTIR analysis
Talcum from a chemical point of view is the powdered form of the silicate mineral
talc with the sum formula Mg
3
Si
4
O
10
(OH)
2
. It is mixed with polymers in order to optimize
their properties like for instance elasticity, impact resistance or colour fastness. Talcum can
be easily identified by using FT-IR spectroscopy. The result of the measurement of four
different polypropylene (PP) samples with different talc contents can be seen in Figure 2. The
upper spectrum is pure PP and pure talc; the spectra below have increasing talcum content up
to 20 %. The most prominent features are broad bands around 1000 cm
-1
and 670 cm
-1
that
result from the Si-O stretching modes. It is obvious that the amount of talcum directly relates
to the intensity of the named bands, a fact that can be used for a quantitative analysis (Bruker,
2010).






















Figure 2: Spectra of polypropylene with varying talcum content; 0-20%




4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 515.0
78.0
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
96.9
cm-1
%T
2949.93
2916.76
2837.58
1456.71
1376.06
1015.81
671.11
4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 515.0
20.0
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95.9
cm-1
%T
3676.14
1452.64
1004.14
884.60
748.71
668.91
4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 515.0
77.0
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
99.7
cm-1
%T
2950.11
2916.97
2837.68
1456.38
1375.96
1166.57
1016.98
973.30
840.69
669.30
4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 515.0
73.0
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99.0
cm-1
%T
3676.07
2950.06
2917.13
2837.56
1738.36
1455.93
1375.94
1217.26
1015.11
670.03
4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 515.0
57.0
58
60
62
64
66
68
70
72
74
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
98.8
cm-1
%T
3675.84
2950.43
2917.79
2837.60
1454.83
1376.15
1012.76
669.44
4000.0 3600 3200 2800 2400 2000 1800 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 515.0
64.0
66
68
70
72
74
76
78
80
82
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
98
98.9
cm-1
%T
3676.34
2950.54
2917.38
2868.01
2837.53
1455.45
1376.09
1166.19
1015.88
973.44
841.04
669.54
534.50
a) Pure PP
e) Talc 15 wt%
d) Talc 10 wt%
c) Talc 5 wt%
b) Pure talc
f) Talc 20 wt%
1
0
0
0

c
m
-
1

6
7
0

c
m
-
1

dsc group 3 CHE 659_Sample 3, 01.04.2014 10:55:35
dsc group 3 CHE 659_Sample 3, 6.0000 mg
dsc group 4 CHE 659_Sample 4, 01.04.2014 11:28:18
dsc group 4 CHE 659_Sample 4, 5.8000 mg
dsc CHE 659_PP, 01.04.2014 12:01:38
dsc CHE 659_PP, 4.5000 mg
dsc CHE 659_talc , 01.04.2014 12:35:13
dsc CHE 659_talc , 6.2000 mg
dsc CHE 659_gp 1 new, 01.04.2014 13:08:49
dsc CHE 659_gp 1 new, 5.5000 mg
dsc CHE 659_gp 2 new, 01.04.2014 13:42:25
dsc CHE 659_gp 2 new, 7.4000 mg
mW
-70
-60
-50
-40
-30
-20
-10
0
10
20
min
C 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22

^exo
STAR
e
SW 9. 30

Lab: METTLER


3.3 Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis
It can be observed from Figure 3 that the melting temperatures (T
m
) of the
polypropylene have only a slightly change with the addition of talc from 0 to 20wt% which is
at range 160-170C. T
m
is the point at which the polymer molecules have gained enough
vibrational freedom to break free from the solid binding forces and form a liquid. Meanwhile
the PP/Talc blends with the addition of talc exhibited a much greater exothermic degradation
peak. The peak temperature of the degradation (T
d
), was increased as the weight of the talc
filled increased. The measurements showed that the degradation temperature of the pure
polypropylene is 454.36C. The addition of filler concentration increases the degradation
temperatures of blends up to about 476.63C at 20wt% of talc filled. The higher values of the
blends degrade temperature for addition of talc filled is due to the improved interface
between polymers and filler and that prevents the molecular mobility of segments of the
blend (Bajsi et al., 2013).

Figure 3: DSC T
m
(a) and T
d
(b) with varying talcum content; 0-20%

3.4 Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis
In order to determine the thermal stability of the polymers as talc weight increased in
the PP/Talc blends, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used. From Figure 4, the graph
shown that the polypropylene with less talc degrade faster and the greater talc weight degrade
later. The PP/Talc blends with 5wt% talc filled start degrade at 475.93C meanwhile for
20wt% filled talc, the PP/Talc blends degrade at 481.57C (Appendix). According to TGA
results, the addition of talc enhanced thermal stability and the homogeneity of the talc filled
in PP/Talc blends is better as the weight of talc increased (Bajsi et al., 2013). According to
Qiu et al., 2103, the high barrier of talc filled layer will retard the active molecules to
transmit among the layers or retard the degradation products to release and then improve the
thermal stability.
(a)T
m

(b)T
d

tga group 2_Sample 1, 01.04.2014 10:14:47
tga group 2_Sample 1, 18.7000 mg
tga CHE 659 group 1_Sample 2, 01.04.2014 11:14:53
tga CHE 659 group 1_Sample 2, 18.6000 mg
tga CHE 659 group 3_Sample 3, 01.04.2014 12:07:49
tga CHE 659 group 3_Sample 3, 15.8000 mg
tga CHE 659 group 4_Sample 4, 01.04.2014 13:16:45
tga CHE 659 group 4_Sample 4, 14.6000 mg
mg
0
5
10
15
min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
\tga group 2_Sample 1
tga group 2_Sample 1, 18.7000 mg
\tga CHE 659 group 1_Sample 2
tga CHE 659 group 1_Sample 2, 18.6000 mg
\tga CHE 659 group 3_Sample 3
tga CHE 659 group 3_Sample 3, 15.8000 mg
\tga CHE 659 group 4_Sample 4
tga CHE 659 group 4_Sample 4, 14.6000 mg
mgmin^-1
-10
-5
min 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
STAR
e
SW 9. 30

Lab: METTLER


Figure 4: TGA with varying talcum content; 0-20%


4.0 Conclusion
The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of talc content on the mechanical and
thermal properties of the polypropylene. From the mechanical properties of PP/Talc blends
does not improved in terms of tensile strength, impact and elongation of break as the strength
decreased with the addition of the talc content increased. The addition of talc has decrease the
tensile strengths and elongation at break from 5 to 20 wt %. In the other hand, impact
strength of PP/Talc blends showed a slight decrease for up to 5 wt % talc, increase at 10 wt%
and then a further decrease at higher filler contents. For elasticity modulus, the value tends to
increase for talc contents up to 10wt %. Elasticity modulus show significant decrease for talc
content between 15wt% and started to increase slightly at 20wt % talc. The mechanical
strength between PP/Talc blends decreased as talc filled increased is due to the poor
interfacial adhesion and bond strength between matrix and filler. The surface characteristics
of the composite can greatly influence the filled system. . For FTIR, it is obvious that the
increased amount of talcum change the functional group of pure PP at certain wavelength.
The most prominent features are broad bands around 1000 cm
-1
and 670 cm
-1
that result from
the Si-O stretching modes. The DSC results for PP/Talc blends show that the degree of
degradation increased up to 476.63C at 20wt% of talc filled from 454.36C due to the
improved interface between polymers and filler. According to TGA results thermal stability
was enhanced as the temperature for the composite to degrade increased from 443.34C at 5
wt% filled talc to 452.24C at 20wt% filled talc.

5.0 Acknowledgement
Thanks to God for giving me the strength and help that finally I manage to
accomplish the technical paper completely. First and foremost, I would like to thanks the
lecturer, Pn. Suffiyana Binti Akhbar and members that involve in this project. Thanks for the
time and guiding me through this project from beginning until the end. Finally, I would like
to take this opportunity to thank my family member and all my friends, I would thank you
enough for your love and prayers and supporting me throughout my studies.

6.0 References

Afroze S. et al., 2012, Physical, Optical and Thermal Properties of Graphite and Talc Filler
Reinforced Polypropylene (PP) Composites, Journal of Advanced Scientific and Technical
Research, vol. 5, pp. 40-49.

Bajsi E. G.,

Rek V. and osi, I., 2013, Preparation and Characterization of Talc Filled
Thermoplastic Polyurethane/Polypropylene Blends, Journal of Polymers, vol. 2014.

Bruker, 2013, IR-Spectroscopic Analysis of Polymer Fillers and Compatibilizers, Retrieved
on 18
th
April 2014 from http://www.bruker.com/fileadmin/user_upload/8-PDF-
Docs/OpticalSpectrospcopy/FT-IR/ALPHA/AN/AN104_Polymer_filler_EN.pdf

Eroglu M., 2007, Effect of Talc and Heat Treatment on the Properties of
Polypropylene/EVA Composite, Journal of Materials Science and Technology, vol. 2, pp.
67-73.

Shabanat M., 2011, Study of the Effect of Weathering in Natural Environment on
Polypropylene and Its Composites: Morphological and Mechanical Properties, Journal of
Chemistry, vol. 3, pp. 129-132.

Varga J., 1992, Supermolecular structure of isotactic polypropylene, Journal of Materials
Science, vol. 27, pp. 25572579.

Yousfi M., et al., 2013, Use of New Synthetic Talc as Reinforcing Nanofillers for
Polypropylene and Polyamide 6 Systems: Thermal and Mechanical Properties, Journal of
Colloid and Interface Science, vol. 403, pp. 23-49.

Yusoff S., et al., 2004, A Plastic Injection Molding Process Characterisation Using
Experimental Design Technique: A Case Study, Journal of Technology, vol. 41, pp. 1-16.

Zhou Y. et al., 2005, Experimental Study on Thermal and Mechanical Behaviour of
Polypropylene, Talc/Polypropylene and Polypropylene/Clay Nanocomposites, Journal of
Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 402, pp. 109-117.