A series of polymer-clay nanocomposites have been synthesized with addition of various compatibilizers to study the role of compatibilizer’s chemical structure as well as its concentration within the nanocomposites.  Nanocomposites are a class of material that incorporates silicate layers such as montmorillonite (MMT), into polymer matrix on the nanoscale level to improve thermal, mechanical, and barrier properties of the polymer material when compared to the bulk polymer. In this study, modified sodium montmorillonite Clay (Na-MMT) and low density polyethylene (MW of about 35,000) along with small amount of compatibilizer (various co-polymers containing some level of maleic anhydride) were used to synthesize the nanocomposites.  Melt intercalation processing technique has been used to develop the nanocomposits.  X-ray powder diffraction, FT-IR, and thermogravametric (TGA) analysis have been utilized to characterize the nanocomposites. <br/>

Behavior of compatibilizers with different chemical structure in polyethylene-MMT nanocomposites

249th National Meeting (2015)

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