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(Plasticized) Polylactide/(Organo‐)Clay Nanocomposites by in situ Intercalative Polymerization
Author(s) -
Paul MarieAmélie,
Delcourt Cécile,
Alexandre Michaël,
Degée Philippe,
Monteverde Fabien,
Rulmont André,
Dubois Philippe
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.200400324
Subject(s) - montmorillonite , exfoliation joint , masterbatch , materials science , nanocomposite , polymerization , polymer chemistry , intercalation (chemistry) , in situ polymerization , ethylene glycol , ring opening polymerization , polyester , chemical engineering , composite material , polymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , graphene , engineering , nanotechnology
Summary: Both intercalated and exfoliated poly( L , L ‐lactide) (P( L , L ‐LA)/organomodified montmorillonite nanocomposites were synthesized by in situ ring‐opening polymerization of L , L ‐lactide, in bulk, directly in the presence of the nanofiller. Intercalation of polyester chains was found to appear even for natural unmodified montmorillonite‐Na + , while exfoliation occurred when the aluminosilicate layers were modified by ammonium cations bearing primary hydroxyl groups. Clay delamination was effectively triggered by the grafting reaction of the growing PLA chains onto the hydroxyl groups. Aluminium triisopropoxide, triethylaluminium, and stannous octoate, as initiating or co‐initiating species, were compared in terms of polymerization control. The influence of nanoclay content (from 1 to 10 wt.‐% in inorganics) on morphology and thermal behavior was also studied. In parallel, a highly filled nanocomposite (called masterbatch), prepared by in situ polymerization, was dispersed into a (plasticized) preformed polylactide matrix in the molten state, to reach a better clay delamination than that obtained by direct melt blending. Finally, L , L ‐lactide and α , ω ‐dihydroxylated poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG 1000) were copolymerized in presence of clay in order to study the behavior of the resulting triblocks towards nanocomposite formation.Significant exfoliation of clay platelets has been achieved in a commercial polylactide matrix using a “masterbatch” process (white arrows).