Well dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation of nanoscale fillers (such as nano-CaCO3 and nano-clay) in polymer matrix is currently not easy to be achieved. Supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO2) has been reported to have great potential for facilitating the dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation of the nanoscale fillers in polymer matrix. Supercritical fluids have a unique and valuable potential for the enhanced processing of many materials. In this study poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/clay nanocomposites with three different clays with different weight percentages of montmorillonite (MMT) have been processed by scCo2 technique. The Xray diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images reveal the formation of intercalated nanocomposites. In present study, three different organically modified montmorillonite (MMT) clays of Cloisite 10A, 20A and 30B (5%) were added into polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer. Nanoclay and PET polymer were combined with melt blending method in terms of twin screw extruder and ScCo2 processing Internal and morphological properties of PET/clay nanocomposites were analyzed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images and XRD curves. The findings and results of nanocomposites were compared with that of PET polymer. At the end of the study, the changes in PET polymer and the effect of clay type on material properties were determined. Compared to the nanocomposites prepared without the aid of ScCO2, the nanocomposites with ScCO2 addition appear to have higher degree of nano-filler dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation.
Polymer/clay nanocomposites are a new class of emerging materials in the last decades.Clays is used as filler due to their availability and good properties. In the low content of filler they improve barrier and mechanical properties. Nanocomposite developments have already been introduced for the majority of engineering plastics. Utilizing organomodified montmorillonite (MMT) (commonly called ‗‗Nanoclay'') to reinforce polymer-based composites have raised much attention to academic and industrial sectors due to the addition of small amount of nanoclay could considerably enhance the mechanical properties of pristine polymers. The aim of this paper is to give short review on recent trends in dispersing nanoclay particles into polymer matrices using supercritical carbon dioxide.It also focuses on properties enhancement reported by different researchers and the scCO2 process was reviewed future challenges for this emerging technology in engineering applications.
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