Effect of Nano-Susceptor Material Addition on the Microwave Sintering of Polypropylene

Abstract

The use of microwave heating technology for processing of polypropylene was investigated with key research focus on the use of susceptor materials utilized and on the pre-mixing technique employed before microwave processing. Two susceptor materials (carbon black and polyaniline) were investigated for this purpose. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), density measurement, hardness testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy were employed to study the efficiency of each susceptor material and to characterize the properties of the composites formed after microwave processing. The results indicated a higher efficiency for carbon black susceptor material as compared to polyaniline and manifested the enhancement in the properties and characteristics of the composites by using a low viscosity pre-mixing technique.