Isotactic polypropylene (PP)/organoclay (OC) nanocomposites was prepared in two different ways, specifically melt and solution.Getting
organoclay, cationic surfactant, cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) may use to modify Khulays clay (Saudi Arabia) once covering by Na
+
ions. To establish correspondence between the preparation method and the degree of intercalation/exfoliation of organoclay in polypropylene
matrix, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) screening were performed. The result revealed that the prepared PP/OC nanocomposites by melt method have the
most extensive dispersion of organoclay particles and the highest level of exfoliation comparing to that prepared by solution method. Also
the crystallinity (XC) degree of PP/OC nanocomposites at dissimilar organoclay content (1, 5 and 10 wt. %) was calculated regarding
XRD result. All nanocomposites XCwas higher than that of neat polypropylene. In addition, crystalline structure of PP/OC nanocomposites
which prepared by solution method showed absolutely dissimilar comparing to those prepared by melting method.