In this work, biodegradable nanocomposites based on polycaprolactone (PCL) reinforced with 2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 wt.% of two different clays, a commercial organo-clay (Cloisite 20A, C20A) and a laboratory modified bentonite with tributylhexadecyl phosphonium bromide (bTBHP), were prepared by melt intercalation followed by compression molding. The study contemplates the analysis of chemical (Infrared Spectrometry, FTIR), morphological (X-Ray Diffractometry, XRD, Scanning Electron Microscopy, SEM, and Transmission Electron Microscopy, TEM), rheological, thermal (Differential Scanning Calorimetry, DSC, and Thermogravimetrical Analysis, TGA) and mechanical properties (tensile tests), which are important properties for packaging applications. In previous works, we concluded that higher clay dispersion degree inside the PCL matrix is expected when clays with large interlayer distance, strong hydrophobicity and strong processing stability are used. In the present work the opposite result was obtained. Although the phosphonium treated clay (bTBHP) showed the largest interlayer distance (d001), strongest hydrophobicity and the best processing stability, the clay dispersion degree inside PCL was worse than in the case of the alkylammonium treated clay (C20A). PCL/bTBHP nanocomposites showed weaker mechanical properties in comparison with PCL/C20A ones, which is in accordance with the morphological analysis. On the other hand, the thermal properties of the matrix were not substantially affected by clay incorporation in both nanocomposites. Copyright
Your article is protected by copyright and all rights are held exclusively by Koninklijke Nederlandse Planteziektenkundige Vereniging. This e-offprint is for personal use only and shall not be self-archived in electronic repositories. If you wish to self-archive your article, please use the accepted manuscript version for posting on your own website. You may further deposit the accepted manuscript version in any repository, provided it is only made publicly available 12 months after official publication or later and provided acknowledgement is given to the original source of publication and a link is inserted to the published article on Springer's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The final publication is available at link.springer.com".
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.