Increase Of MMT Content Research Articles

Isothermal crystallization behavior of exfoliated‐PP/IMMT nanocomposites via in situ polymerization

AbstractHighly exfoliated isotactic‐polypropylene/alkyl‐imidazolium modified montmorillonite (PP/IMMT) nanocomposites have been prepared via in situ intercalative polymerization. TEM and XRD results indicated that the obtained composites were highly exfoliated PP/IMMT nanocomposites and the average thickness of IMMT in PP matrix was less than 10 nm, and the distance between adjacent IMMT particles was in the range of 20–200 nm. The isothermal crystallization kinetics of highly exfoliated PP/IMMT nanocomposites were investigated by using differential scanning calorimeter(DSC) and polarized optical microscope (POM). The crystallization half‐time t1/2, crystallization peak time tmax, and the Avrami crystallization rate constant Kn showed that the nanosilicate layers accelerate the overall crystallization rate greatly due to the nucleation effect, and the crystallization rate was increased with the increase in MMT content. Meanwhile, the crystallinity of PP in nanocomposites decreased with the increase in clay content which indicated the PP chains were confined by the nanosilicate layers during the crystallization process. Although the well‐dispersed silicate layers did not have much influence on spherulites growth rate, the nucleation rate and the nuclei density increased significantly. Accordingly, the spherulite size decreased with the increase in MMT content. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 2215–2225, 2009

Electrical conductivity and dielectric properties of polypyrrole/Na+–montmorillonite (PPy/Na+–MMT) clay nanocomposites

Frequency dependent ac conductivity (σac), dielectric constant (ε′) and loss factor (ε″) have been measured in the frequency range 100–106 Hz in polypyrrole/Na+–montmorillonite (PPy/Na+–MMT) clay nanocomposites. The nanocomposites were synthesized by in situ polymerization of pyrrole with varying amounts of Na+–MMT from 0.2 to 1.0 wt% in the presence of FeCl3 · 6H2O in an aqueous medium. All three measured quantities; σac, ε′ and ε″ increased with the increase in MMT content in the composites at all frequencies. The frequency dependence of σac displayed a low frequency region of almost constant conductivity below 104 Hz, while above this frequency a rapid rise in σac was observed with the increase in frequency obeying a power law of frequency dependence with an exponent equal to 1. Both real and imaginary parts of the permittivity exhibited a low frequency dispersion which has been attributed to hopping of polarons and bipolarons in PPy and its composites.

The mechanical/thermal properties of microcellular injection‐molded poly‐lactic‐acid nanocomposites

AbstractThis study investigated the influence of montmorillonite (MMT) content on the mechanical/thermal properties of microcellular injection‐molded polylactide (PLA)/clay nanocomposites. Carbon dioxide was the blowing agent. The PLA/MMT nanocomposites were prepared by twin screw extrusion. The results showed that as MMT content is increased, tensile strength, impact strength, and cell density decrease. This is caused by the speed degradation of PLA due to the addition of MMT. MMT decreases the crystallization temperature but increases the decomposition temperature of the nanocomposites. The XRD results showed that the layer spacing of the clay increases as MMT content increases. TEM pictures showed that the MMT is well dispersed within the PLA matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers.

The Effect of Organic Modificaition Method onto Montmorillonite on Mechanical Properties of Natural Rubber

Montmorillonite is a type of clays that has been used to reinforce polymer including rubber. Therefore this research is aimed to modify mechanical properties of natural rubber (NR) using montmorillonite (MMT) comparing with the organic modified montmorillonite (CTAB-MMT) and organic molecule grafted MMT. The affect of MMT, CTAB-MMT and HTMS-g-CTABMMT on cure characteristics of NR were studied. It was found from the research that the increase of MMT content could prolong the scorch time whereas CTAB-MMT and HTMS-g-CTABMMT could shorten the scorch time. The cure times of the compounds in all cases were not much different. In term of mechanical properties, modulus, tensile strength and tear strength of NR/HTMS-g-CTABMMT vulcanizate were higher than those of NR/MMT and NR/CTAB-MMT vulcanizates. Meanwhile, elongation at break of the NR/ HTMS-g-CTABMMT vulcanizate decreased more than the latter cases

Synthesis and characterization of hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)/lanthanum/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Amine-terminated hyperbranched poly(amine-ester)(HBP) dendrimer synthesized in our laboratory was used as a complex agent of the lanthanum(La 3+) particles, and montmorillonite (MMT) as a stabilizer to gain HBP/La/MMT ternary nanocomposites. The results of TEM showed that HBP/La composites were deposited on the surface of the MMT layers within nanoscales. The sizes of clusters become larger and larger with the increase of MMT content. The information of DSC indicated that the T g of HBP/La/MMT nanocomposites with 5–30 wt.% MMT were increased significantly.

An Experimental Investigation on the Tensile Behavior of Silane-Modified MMT/Epoxy Nanocomposites

It is well-known that the mechanical properties of nanocomposites are better than those of conventional composites. One of problems in fabricating nanocomposites is a dispersion of nanoparticles in the composites. In this study, the effect of MMT content on the tensile characteristics of trifunctional silane-treated MMT/epoxy nanocomposite was investigated. It was found that the tensile strength and the elastic modulus increased by over 24% and 83%, respectively, as the content of MMT increases from 2wt% to 10wt%. The improvement of tensile strength and modulus with increasing content of MMT occurs because the reinforcing effect of MMT becomes greater than the deteriorating effect due to the interfacial debonding between MMT and epoxy as the MMT content increases.

Mechanical properties of polyurethane/montmorillonite nanocomposite prepared by melt mixing

AbstractNanocomposites from polyurethane (PU) and montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared under melt‐mixing condition, by a twin screw extruder along with a compatibilizer to enhance dispersion of MMT. MMT used in this study was Cloisite 25A (modified with dimethyl hydrogenated tallow 2‐ethylhexyl ammonium) or Cloisite 30B (modified with methyl tallow bis‐2‐hydroxyethyl ammonium). Maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) was used as the compatibilizer. XRD and TEM analysis demonstrated that melt mixing by a twin‐screw extruder was effective in dispersing MMT through the PU matrix. The PU/Cloisite 30B composite exhibited better interlayer separation than the PU/Cloiste 25A composite. Nanoparticle dispersion was the best at 1 wt % of MMT and improved with compatibilizer content for both composites. Properties of the composites such as complex viscosity and storage modulus were higher than that of a pure PU matrix and increased with the increase in MMT content, but decreased with the increase in compatibilizer content. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007

Preparation and characterization of carboxymethyl konjac glucomannan/sodium montmorillonite hybrid films

AbstractCarboxymethyl konjac glucomannan (CKGM)/ sodium montmorillonite (MMT) hybrid films of various compositions were prepared by casting from a polymer/silicate water suspension. The structure and properties of the hybrid films were investigated by wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR‐IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and tensile tests. The results from WXRD and TEM indicated that an intercalated CKGM/MMT nanocomposite film was obtained by polymer solution intercalation. WXRD and DSC showed that the high‐Tm crystal phase was induced by the presence of lower MMT loading, but the Tm of the hybrid films became weak with the increase of MMT content due to the polymer confinement. The hybrid films showed higher thermal stability and mechanical properties than that of the neat polysaccharide due to the strong interaction between hydroxyl and carbonyl group of CKGM and the silicate layer of MMT. Furthermore, the degree of swelling of the hybrid films was investigated in acidic buffer solutions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2954–2961, 2007