Fracture toughness of polypropylene-based particulate composites

Electronic version of an article published as "Materials" vol. 2, no 4, 2009, p. 2046-2094. DOI no 10.3390/ma2042046.The fracture behaviour of polymers is strongly affected by the addition of rigid particles. Several features of the particles have a decisive influence on the values of the fracture toughness: shape and size, chemical nature, surface nature, concentration by volume, and orientation. Among those of thermoplastic matrix, polypropylene (PP) composites are the most industrially employed for many different application fields. Here, a review on the fracture behaviour of PP-based particulate composites is carried out, considering the basic topics and experimental techniques of Fracture Mechanics, the mechanisms of deformation and fracture, and values of fracture toughness for different PP composites prepared with different particle scale size, either micrometric or nanometric.Peer Reviewe