Carbon Fiber Reinforced Recycled Polypropylene/Polyolefin Elastomer Composites with High Mechanical Properties

Abstract

The treatment of waste plastics has gradually become a hot topic in the current scientific community. In response to the needs for high-impact performance R-PP-based composites, carbon fiber (CF)-reinforced polyolefin elastomer (POE)/recycled polypropylene (R-PP) composite (CF/POE/R-PP) was prepared by the mechanical blending method, and its mechanical and thermal properties were systematically studied. It was found that the CF could effectively improve the bending and notch impact strength as well as enhance the thermal stability of POE/R-PP. Furthermore, a stable and dispersed composite interface formed by the combination of maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) with the surface of CF and the fusion alkyl chains in R-PP and POE further enhanced the CF’s reinforcing effect. As a result, the addition of 9 wt.% CF successfully improved the heat resistance of the composite material, and the residual carbon content increased by 97.84% after sintering. The composite toughening of POE and CF effectively improved the impact strength of the composite material, with a maximum increase of over 1000%. This study ultimately resulted in a high-impact-resistant composite material.