A Linear Relationship between the Mechanical, Thermal and Gas Barrier Properties of MAPE Modified Rubber Toughened Nanocomposites

Abstract

Composites based on high density polyethylene (HDPE), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) and organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) clays were prepared by melt compounding followed by compression molding. The addition of clay as well as compatibilizer agent (maleic anhydride polyethylene (MAPE)) considerably improved the tensile properties of nanocomposites systems. The largest improvement in mechanical and thermal properties occurred at clay loading levels of 4% (2-8 wt %) with MAPE system. Interestingly, the increased in tensile properties also resulted in improve in thermal and barrier properties. Differential scanning calorimeter analysis (DSC) revealed that the barrier property of nanocomposite was influenced by the crystalline percentage of nanocomposite. Along with crystalline percentage, the crystallization temperature, Tc and melting temperature, Tm were also improved with OMMT and MAPE agent. The d-spacings of the clay in nanocomposites were monitored using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and the extent of delamination was examined by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The wide angle of XRD patterns showed the increased interplanar spacing, d of clay layers, indicating enhanced compatibility between polymer matrix and OMMT with the aid of MAPE agent. TEM photomicrographs illustrated the mixed intercalated and partial exfoliated structures of the nanocomposites with OMMT and MAPE agent.

Effect of Nanoclay on the Mechanical Behavior of Compatibilized Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Copolymer / High Density Polyethylene Blends

“…Similar improvement was also reported by previous researchers in their works on any polymer/organo clay nanocomposites [17]. The primary causes for such improvement is attributed to the presence of immobilized or partially mobilized polymer phases as a consequence of interaction of polymer chains with organic modification of the clays, which is similar to earlier reported result [18]. Since, the molecular structure of MA-g-PE contains anhydride group which is highly attracted to OMMT sheets and a longer non polar fragment attracted to the EVA/HDPE matrix.…”

“…Since, the molecular structure of MA-g-PE contains anhydride group which is highly attracted to OMMT sheets and a longer non polar fragment attracted to the EVA/HDPE matrix. This reason for the improvement of tensile and flexural properties is also reported earlier [18]. There is no appreciable change observed in tensile strength.…”

Durability of Hygro-Immersion Aged Cellulose Fibre Reinforced Polymer Layered Silicate Nanocomposites

“…Furthermore, the addition of clay to the HDPE intends to improve the toughness of prepared nanocomposites [3][4]. Addition of nanoclay to HDPE has been proven to reduce gas permeability while increasing mechanical properties, flame retardance, and thermal stability [5].…”

Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites

“…e most commonly used compatibilizers are obtained by grafting polar groups on polymers and copolymers. Examples of these compatibilizers include maleic anhydride grafted on polyethylene (PE-g-MA) [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27], on linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE-g-MA) [28][29][30], on polypropylene (PPg-MA) [8,10,19,, and on styrene/ethylene-butylene/ styrene (SEBS-g-MA) [51,56,57]. Other polar groups grafted on polymers are itaconic acid [58][59][60], glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) [54], and acrylic acid (AA) [54,61,62].…”