Polímeros: Ciência e Tecnologia
https://revistapolimeros.org.br/article/doi/10.1590/0104-1428.20250060
Polímeros: Ciência e Tecnologia
Original Article

Enhanced thermal and transport properties of PP/CaCO3 micro- and nanocomposites: performance evaluation

Juliano Martins Barbosa; Renato Meneghetti Peres; Bruno Milton Oliveira Silva; Ricardo Jorge Espanhol Andrade; Hélio Ribeiro

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0104-1428.20250060 Polímeros: Ciência e Tecnologia, vol.36, n1, e20260008, 2026
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Abstract

Mechanical tests previously demonstrated that optimizing the dispersion of micro- and nanoparticulate CaCO3 in polypropylene (PP) composites was successfully achieved through a Design of Experiments (DOE), enabling the identification and guided processing parameters for further evaluation of thermal and barrier properties. The formulation with 1.2 wt% nanofiller exhibited enhanced crystallinity compared to hPP. The incorporation of ~4.0 wt% nanoparticulate CaCO3 increased the Heat Deflection Temperature (HDT) by 12 °C compared to neat homopolymer polypropylene (hPP), and by 3 °C relative to microfilled composites. Oxidation Onset Temperature (OOT) improved with increasing filler content, especially in nanocomposites. A slight reduction in flammability was observed for the composite with ~0.5 wt% nanofiller. Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR) remained mostly unchanged in microcomposites, while a 1.5 wt% microfilled sample showed excellent Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) performance. Notably, nanocomposites containing 0.48wt% CaCO3 reduced OTR by 52%, confirming their thermal stability and barrier properties at low filler loadings.

 

 

Keywords

calcium carbonate, polypropylene nanocomposites, barrier properties, oxygen transmission rate (OTR), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR)

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