Simultaneous improvement of thermal and mechanical properties of PP/SEBS/clay nanocomposite produced by Fused Filament Fabrication method

The aim of the work described in this paper is to improve the thermal stability and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS)/clay nanocomposites fabricated by fused filament fabrication (FFF). The response surface method is used to investigate the effect of print speed, nozzle temperature, and nano-clay content on the thermal stability, tensile strength, and impact resistance of the PP/SEBS/clay nanocomposite. In addition, the microstructure of the printed samples was analyzed by SEM and TEM images. Increasing the nano-clay amount significantly enhanced the melting temperature of the nanocomposite, while increasing nozzle temperature and print speed had a slight influence on the melting temperature. Moreover, the highest tensile strength of the nanocomposite was attained at a clay content of 3 wt%, due to the good distribution of the nanoparticles in the PP matrix. The impact resistance of the nanocomposite was also enhanced with an increase in print speed, while an increase in nozzle temperature and clay content reduced the impact resistance. The optimization results indicated that the melting temperature, tensile strength, and impact resistance of the PP/SEBS/clay nanocomposite can be enhanced simultaneously by a print speed of 80 mm/s, nozzle temperature of 242°C and nano-clay content of 3.2 wt%. Highlight: Fabrication of PP/SEBS/clay nanocomposite using the FFF process. Studying the effect of FFF parameters on the thermal and mechanical properties. Predicting the optimum values of the FFF parameters.