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Novel approach to fibrillation of LCP in an LCP/PP blend

2002; Wiley; Volume: 86; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/app.11157

1097-4628

M. W. Lee, Xiao Hu, C. Y. Yue, Lin Li, Kam Chiu Tam, Keisuke Nakayama,

Polymer crystallization and properties

Abstract A novel concept of improving shear‐induced fibrillation of liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) in LCP/thermoplastic blend systems was introduced. Silica fillers (SiO 2 ) were added to an LCP/polypropylene (PP) system to serve as a viscosity thickening agent and to improve the fibrillation of the LCP phase. The formation of LCP fibrils was found to enhance with the incorporation of 5–15 wt % of fillers. The presence of LCP fibrils improved the flow properties of the LCP/PP/SiO 2 composites. It was evident from the rheological and morphological studies that the addition of silica led to an increase of the aspect ratio of the LCP fibrils, which, in turn, should improve their effectiveness as reinforcements and/or toughening agents. Substantial improvement in LCP aspect ratio was achieved by the introduction of hydrophobic SiO 2 fillers in the PP/LCP blends. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 2070–2078, 2002