Novel preparation method for enhancing nanoparticle dispersion and barrier properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(m-xylylene adipamide)

作者：Wang Yin; Jabarin Saleh A^*

来源：Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2013, 129(3): 1455-1465.

DOI：10.1002/app.38853

• clay
• polyesters
• X-ray
• composites
• microscopy

A modified melt blending method has been developed for preparing exfoliated nanocomposites of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with sodium-montmorillonite (Na-MMT) and poly(m-xylylene adipamide) with Na-MMT. In this novel compounding process, a Na-MMT water solution was blended with the polymer in a twin screw extruder. This mixing process ensured that the silica nanoparticles were exfoliated in the polymer matrix through fixing the nanoparticles within the polymer matrix almost as they were in water. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction were used to determine nanoparticle dispersion level. The absence of the X-ray basal reflections in conjunction with the TEM images revealed the exfoliation of clay platelets. Differential scanning calorimetry illustrated that the nucleating abilities of montmorillonite were related to clay content and dispersion morphology. Oxygen permeation results indicated that the improved morphologies had enhanced the barrier properties of the nanocomposites.

• 出版日期2013-8-5