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Crystalline morphology of PLA/clay nanocomposite films and its correlation with other properties
Author(s) -
Das Kunal,
Ray Dipa,
Banerjee Indranil,
Bandyopadhyay N. R.,
Sengupta Suparna,
Mohanty Amar K.,
Misra Manjusri
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.32345
Subject(s) - crystallinity , materials science , nanocomposite , polylactic acid , scanning electron microscope , crystallite , crystallization , morphology (biology) , glass transition , dispersion (optics) , composite material , chemical engineering , nucleation , casting , polymer chemistry , polymer , chemistry , physics , optics , organic chemistry , biology , engineering , metallurgy , genetics
Polylactic acid (PLA)‐based composite films with four different loadings of nanoclay (2, 5, 10, and 15 wt %) were prepared using a solvent casting method and their crystalline morphology was investigated. The crystalline morphology was significantly different in the films depending on the clay content and its dispersion in the matrix. The clay platelets played the role of nucleating sites facilitating crystallization during solvent evaporation and this effect was most predominant in PLA 10. The % crystallinity and the crystallite size were determined by XRD analysis. The morphology was investigated with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and by atomic force microscopy (AFM). A fibrillar pattern was evident in SEM micrographs, which were confirmed by AFM. The thermal properties were investigated with DSC and TGA. The glass transition temperature ( T g ) increased from 51.9 to 55–57°C in all the nanocomposite samples. The melting peak temperature (168°C) remained unaltered in the nanocomposites, but the melting enthalpy varied depending on the PLA/clay interaction. The rate of degradation was controlled by the dispersion of clay platelets in the matrix and was very low in low clay‐filled films. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010

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