Abstract
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/Na-rich Montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were prepared using solution method to create polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) material. The PCN material was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), demonstrating polymer-clay intercalation that has a high d-spacing (lower diffraction angles) in the PCN XRD pattern, compared to the pure MMT clay XRD pattern, which has a low d-spacing (high diffraction angles). The nano-scanning electron microscope (NSEM) was used to study the morphological image of the PVA, MMT and PCN materials. The results showed that intercalation that took place between the PVA and MMT produced the PCN material. The mechanical properties of the pure PVA and the intercalated polymer material were studied. It was found that the small amount of MMT clay made the tensile modulus and percentage of the total elongation of the nano-composite significantly higher than the pure PVA polymer value, due to polymer-clay intercalation. The thermal stability of the intercalated pol...
Highlights
Polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials have recently become a main research focus due to their unique characteristics and potential commercial applications, receiving research interest and attention from both academia and industry.[1]
nano-scanning electron microscope (NSEM) morphological images of polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials indicated that intercalation between Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and MMT occurred
The crystalline morphology studies using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) of the clay showed that the d-spacing between the MMT clay layers increases in the presence of PVA
Summary
Polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials have recently become a main research focus due to their unique characteristics and potential commercial applications, receiving research interest and attention from both academia and industry.[1] The addition of clay to polymers improves their properties and may result in beneficial features to the materials produced.[2] PCN materials are reported to have enhanced thermal,[3] mechanical,[4] molecular barriers,[5] flame retardation,[6] corrosion protection properties,[7,8,9] and electrical characteristics.[10]. The first PVA/MMT nanocomposite materials fabrication using a solvent casting method was reported by Greenland in 1963.11 In 1997, Ogata and coworkers applied the same technique for the production of PVA/MMT composites.[12] in 2000, Strawhecker and Manias have developed PVA/MMT nanocomposite films with improved properties. The obtained nanocomposite films exhibited both intercalated and exfoliated regions.[13]
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