Synchronously Strengthen and Toughen Polypropylene Using Tartaric Acid-Modified Nano-CaCO.

In order to overcome the challenge of synchronously strengthening and toughening polypropylene (PP) with a low-cost and environmental technology, CaCO (CC) nanoparticles are modified by tartaric acid (TA), a kind of food-grade complexing agent, and used as nanofillers for the first time. The evaluation of mechanical performance showed that, with 20 wt.% TA-modified CC (TAMCC), the impact toughness and tensile strength of TAMCC/PP were 120% and 14% more than those of neat PP, respectively.