Preparation and Characterization of PAEK based Polymer Nanocomposites in the Presence of MMT Clay as Nanofiller to Study Tensile and Impact Properties

Abstract

Polymer based nanocomposite (PNC) is an emerging area and attract the various researchers due to its unique properties and multifunctional abilities. In nanocomposites, nanofillers exhibits extremely high specific surface area, which facilitates great amount of interphase to improve the mechanical properties. Also, a strong interaction between the nanofillers and polymer matrix may be formed even at relatively lower percentage of nanofillers loading. Hence, an advanced multifunctional PNC material with the desired mechanical properties was planned to prepare. For this work, poly-aryl-ether-ketone (PAEK) was selected as polymer matrix. Modified montmorillonite (MMT) clay was used as a nanofiller material to improve the mechanical properties of PAEK based PNC. The samples were prepared by melt mixing method with the help of twin screw extruder followed by injection moulding. To understand the mechanical behavior of PNC, the tensile and impact testing were performed. Further, dispersion of the nanofillers were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that the nanofillers improved mechanical properties (tensile and impact) of PAEK based nanocomposites significatly at 1 and 3 wt% of filler loading. Hence, PNC were prepared and tested for multifunctional purpose.