Preparation and Characterization of TCPP-CaMMT Nanocompound and Its Composite with Polypropylene

Based on the molecular dynamics method, the tris-(1-chloropropan-2yl) phosphate (TCPP)/ montmorillonite (MMT) molecular model was established to study the binding energy and microstruc-ture changes in TCPP and MMT. The theoretical simulation results showed that TCPP can enter the MMT layer and increase the layer spacing. From this, an organic intercalated Ca-montmorillonite TCPP-CaMMT was prepared by a very simple direct mixing method using flame retardant TCPP as a modifier. Polypropylene (PP) composites were prepared by TCPP, CaMMT, and TCPP-CaMMT. The microstructures of TCPP-CaMMT nanocompounds and PP composites were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed that TCPP-CaMMT nanocompounds could be exfoliated into nanosheets in PP. The flame retardancy and mechanical properties of PP/TCPP-CaMMT samples were studied by lim-ited oxygen index (LOI) measurements and tensile tests. The PP/TCPP-CaMMT composites showed better LOI, tensile strength, and elongation at break than the machine-mixed PP/TCPP + CaMMT.