Synthesis and Characterization of Polypropylene and CTAB Modified Diatomite Composites

Polypropylene (PP) has been used extensively in many parts of the industry. The main reason for the frequent use of polypropylene is low cost, easy processing and high performance. Diatomite (D) has superior properties in terms of surface area, thermal conductivity, porosity, particle size, permeability than other siliceous sedimentary rocks. Due to these properties, preparation of composite materials containing polypropylene and diatomite with better properties was considered in the study. Furthermore, the surface of diatomite particles was modified by cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). Composite materials were formed by mixing diatomite and modified diatomite samples with polypropylene at a weight percentage range from 0 to 30 %. The prepared composites were made into films or strips by melt blending using a designed single screw extruder. The characterizations of the samples were carried out with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with an attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM) devices. In addition, tensile strength tests of composite materials were conducted in accordance with ASTM D882 standards.