Premium
Polyethylene‐Montmorillonite Nanocomposites: Preparation, Characterization and Properties
Author(s) -
Cui Liqiang,
Cho Hyun Yong,
Shin JoongWon,
Tarte Naresh Hiralal,
Woo Seong Ihl
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.200751408
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , montmorillonite , thermogravimetric analysis , crystallinity , polyethylene , ultimate tensile strength , composite material , in situ polymerization , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , thermal decomposition , polymerization , polymer , chemical engineering , chemistry , organic chemistry , engineering
Polyethylene(PE)/clay nanocomposites have been successfully prepared by in situ polymerization with an intercalation catalyst titanium‐montmorillonite (Ti‐MMT) and analyzed by X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared analysis (FT‐IR), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differentail scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and tensile testing. XRD and TEM indicate that the clay is exfoliated into nanometer size and disorderedly dispersed in the PE matrix, and the PE crystallinity of PE/clay nanocomposite declines to 15∼30%. Compared with pure PE, PE/clay nanocomposites behave higher thermal, physical and mechanical properties; the layer structure of the clay decreases the polymerization activity and produce polymer with a high molecular weight. For PE/clay nanocomposites, the highest tensile strength of 33.4 MPa and Young's modulus of 477.4 MPa has been achieved when clay content is 7.7 wt %. The maximum thermal decomposition temperature is up to 110 °C higher, but the thermal decomposition temperature of the PE/clay nanocomposites decreases with the increases of the clay contents in the PE matrix.