Poly(butylene terephthalate)/organoclay nanocomposites prepared by in situ interlayer polymerization and its fiber (II)

Abstract

Intercalated nanocomposites with poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) incorporated between the montmorillonite layers were synthesized from dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4-butane diol by using an in situ interlayer polymerization. The PBT nanocomposites were melt-spun at different organoclay contents to produce monofilaments. The samples were characterized by using wide angle X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, thermal analysis, and tensile testing. The extent of the clay layer in the PBT was confirmed by using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, and the clay layer was found to be highly dispersed on a nanometer scale. The addition of only a small amount of organoclay was enough to improve the thermo-mechanical properties of the PBT hybrid fibers. The hybrids were extruded with various draw ratios (DRs) to examine the tensile mechanical property of the fibers. At DR=1, the ultimate tensile strength of the hybrid fibers increased with the addition of clay up to a critical content and then decreased. However, the initial modulus monotonically increased with increasing amount of organoclay in the PBT matrix. When the DR was increased from 1 to 6, for example, the strength and the initial modulus values of the hybrids containing 3wt% organoclay decreased linearly.