8 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA New Developments in Reactive Processing of Thermoplastic Composites Vera Khunova and M.M.Sain Department of Plastics and Rubber, Faculty of Chemical Technology, Slovak Technical University, Slovak Republic Pulp and Paper Research Center, University of Quebec, Trois-Rivieres, PQ, Canada INTRODUCTION The effect of m-phenylene bismaleimide on the performance of calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide, talc and zeolite filled polypropylene was studied. Unlike conventional catalytic methods for composite modifications, the proposed mode of reactive processing is free of any initiator system. It was found that in the selection of processing conditions, temperature played a significant role in the preparation of such composites. A positive effect of the bismaleimide compound was obtained for a processing temperature above the decomposition temperature of bismaleimide. The effectiveness of modifier is more evident with higher filler content. A high stress material can be prepared even if the filler is the dominant phase in composites. The chemical composition of the modified composite and interaction between polymer and filler was correlated to its mechanical strength. The method used an innovative approach to improve interfacial interaction between the polymer matrix and filler by promoting a temperature sensitive chemical reaction via the reactive functionality of the modifier. The filler dispersion has been dramatically improved and the self-initiated chemical reaction between modifier, filler and polymer improved the mechanical strength of composites. Thus by using the in-situ zyxwvu 187