Experimental details materials and procedures

After drying PET for 12 hours at 100 C, it was tumble mixed with PP at a constant weight ratio of 15/85. The mixture was then melt blended in a single-screw extruder (Screw diameter 20 mm, L/D ratio 30) using a set temperature profile of 225°C, 235 C, 250°C, 255°C, and 260 C, and the screw rotating at 30 rpm. The extrudate was in the form of 

A JEOL JSM 840 SEM with an acceleration voltage of 20 kV was used for studying the surface morphology of the specimens. To extract the PET component from the specimens, a mixture of phenol/l,l,2,2-tetrachloroethane in 60/40 wt% was used as the solvent. Similarly, to remove PP and retain the PET fibrils, the specimens were treated with hot xylene. AH the specimens were coated with a thin gold layer prior to SEM analysis. The diameters of about 100 fibrils were measured from the micrographs of stretched samples using image analysis software. 

Thermal properties of PP, neat blend, MFBs and MFCs were studied using a Mettler Toledo DSC 822 at a heating and coohng rate of 5°C/min. The samples were heated up to a maximum temperature of 200°C, held there for 3 min, and then allowed to cool to room temperature to analyze the non-isothermal crystallization behavior of PP component. 

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