Polypropylene nanocomposites containing varying amounts of Styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS) were prepared through the supercritical nitrogen microcellular injection-molding process. Maleic anhydride (MAH)-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) copolymers were used as compatibilizers. The influence of SEBS content on the cell structure and toughness of the SEBS/PP composites was investigated. Upon the addition of SEBS, the differential scanning calorimeter tests revealed that the grain size of the composites decreased, and their toughness increased. The results of the rheological behavior tests showed that the melt viscosity of the composite increased, playing a role in enhancing the cell structure. With the addition of 20 wt% SEBS, the cell diameter decreased from 157 to 66.7 μm, leading to an improvement in the mechanical properties. Compared to pure PP material, the impact toughness of the composites rose by 410% with 20 wt% of SEBS. Microstructure images of the impact section displayed evident plastic deformation, effectively absorbing energy and improving the material's toughness. Furthermore, the composites exhibited a significant increase in toughness in the tensile test, with the foamed material's elongation at break being 960% higher than that of pure PP foamed material when the SEBS content was 20%.
Keywords: SEBS; microcellular polypropylene; thermoplastic elastomer; toughening.