Polymers are being used in many applications all around the world. However, there are some drawbacks in the properties of polymers that could hamper their usage in certain applications. Therefore, a new material polymer composite was introduced. A polymer composite is a polymer-based material with the addition of a filler. Many researchers have reported the improvement in the properties of a polymer when a filler was introduced. This helps minimize the disadvantages of using a polymer. As a result, polymer composite products can be used in many industries, such as automobile, aerospace, biomedical, and packaging. Fillers derived from natural minerals, such as dolomite, are among the best reinforcement materials for polymeric materials because they are plentiful and low cost, have high rigidity and hardness, and even have tailorable surface chemistry. The use of dolomite as a filler in a polymer composite system has gained increasing attention in recent years after researchers successfully proved that it is capable of improving the mechanical, physical, and thermal properties of various polymeric materials. However, chemical or physical treatment/modification of raw dolomite is needed in order to prepare it as an efficient reinforcing filler. This procedure helps to improve the performance of the resultant polymer composites. This article reviews the usage of dolomite as a filler in a variety of polymeric materials and how it improved the performance of the polymer composite materials. It also highlights several methods that have been used for the purpose dolomite’s treatment/modification. Furthermore, the role of dolomite as a co-filler or a hybrid filler in a polymer composite system is also discussed, revealing the great potential and prospect of this mineral filler in the field of polymer composites for advanced applications.
The combination of the organic and inorganic materials to fabricate a new form of material called ‘composite’ has been performed since several decades ago. However, the strategy to improve the homogeneity of the resultant composite system is still being the main focus of current research. In this study, dolomite and poly (ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (PEVAc) were employed as filler and matrix, respectively. Dolomite was ground and ultrasonicated before being used as filler. It can be observed that the size of dolomite particles has been reduced significantly upon the grinding and ultrasonication processes. The effect of ground and ultrasonicated dolomite (GUD) addition on the mechanical performance of the PEVAc copolymer was investigated. Results indicate that the GUD filler has successfully increased the tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus of elasticity and tensile toughness of the PEVAc copolymer when being employed in 1 wt%. However, the use of higher content of GUD resulted in the decreasing trend of those properties. This shows that the ground and ultrasonicated dolomite with smaller and higher surface area particles than its pristine form could bring improvement to the mechanical performance of the copolymer when being used in low loading as it can be more easily dispersed in the copolymer matrix.
In this research, the interlayer destabilization process of bentonite was applied to gain a loosely packed, swelled, and disorganized clay layered structure for better polymer intercalation and filler dispersion during the fabrication of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) nanocomposites. Three different destabilization methods were applied to natural and commercial bentonites and their effects on swelling and platelets’ ordering of the clays were observed. X‐ray diffraction results suggest that the destabilization process through a combination of pH control and salt addition is more efficient in swelling both types of bentonite clays. This was supported by field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis where smaller, more loosely packed, and uniform platelets were observed due to swelling of both natural and commercial bentonite clays. The “destabilized” bentonites were used as the co‐nanofiller with the organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) to form hybrid silicate nanofillers for EVA matrix reinforcement. Results show that the “destabilized” natural bentonite (NB) prepared by the combination of pH control and salt addition is most efficient in reinforcing the EVA matrix when combined with the OMMT by achieving 124.9% increment in tensile strength and 190.8% in toughness values. This could be related to the improved dispersion of bentonites upon the destabilization process that allows greater matrix–filler interactions in the nanocomposite system. In summary, the destabilization process through the combination of pH control and salt addition is the promising and practical technique to improve the dispersion of bentonites throughout the EVA matrix. Without the use of expensive and toxic chemicals, it can be adopted as a new approach to swell bentonites for more environmentally friendly nanocomposite technology. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 25:396–411, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers
Natural and commercial bentonites can act as efficient fillers to reinforce a polymer matrix if their strong interlayer binding forces are weakened to reduce tactoid formation. In this research, interlayers destabilization process was applied to gain a loosely packed, swelled and disorganized clay layered structure for better polymer intercalation and filler dispersion during the polymer/clay composite fabrication. Three different destabilization methods were applied to the natural and commercial bentonites and their effects on swelling and platelets ordering/stacking of the clays were observed. The pristine and destabilized natural and commercial bentonites were characterized and compared based on their chemical component (XRF), chemical structure (XRD) and morphology (FESEM). Chemical analysis revealed that alumina content in the natural bentonite is less than in the commercial bentonite while silica content in natural bentonite is more than in the commercial bentonite. XRD results suggest that basal spacing (d001) of both natural and commercial bentonites reduced when single destabilization process (by salt addition) was applied but increased when destabilization was done by the combination of pH control and salt addition processes. These show that the destabilization process through combination of pH control and salt addition is more efficient in swelling both natural and commercial bentonite clays. This is supported by FESEM analysis where smaller, more loosely packed and uniform platelets were observed due to swelling and weakening of the interlayer binding forces of both natural and commercial bentonite clays.
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