Morphological and Structural Characterisation of a Dynamically Cured MMT-Reinforced Antimicrobial Polymer Composite

Compounding elastomers and plastics by reactive melt processing in the presence of correct curing systems has led to elastic-plastic alloys with advanced properties. At global scale, however, the new polymeric architectures obtained by dynamic curing, made compatible and reinforced with nanometric particles expand their area of application. Dynamic curing yields elastic-plastic alloys that combine features of both components (elastomer and plastomer) such as chemical resistance, low permeability to water, resistance to extreme temperatures, ozone and UV, low temperature flexibility, resistance to aggressive chemical environments, etc. Through dynamic curing, elastomer particles (EPDM rubber) are more easily dispersed in the polymer matrix (plastomer - PP). This paper aims to morpho-structurally characterize (DSC, SEM, FT-IR) a dynamically cured polymer composite based on polypropylene and ethylene propylene diene terpolymer rubber, made compatible with polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride reinforced with nanometric particles with antimicrobial properties (MMT), and addition of crosslinking agents. The dynamically cured polymer-based composite based on PP/EPDM/PP-g-MA/MMT/curing agents was obtained using technologies specific to elastomers and plastics and characterized according to current standards.