Preparation of Poly(ethylene‐octene) Elastomer/Clay/Wood Flour Nanocomposites by a Melting Method

Abstract

Summary: The new nanocomposites consisting of metallocene poly(ethylene‐octene) (POE), silicate clay and wood flour (WF) were prepared by means of a melt blending method. In addition, maleic anhydride grafted poly(ethylene‐octene) (POE‐g‐MAH) was studied as an alternative to POE. The samples were characterized by XRD, FT‐IR spectroscopy, DSC, TGA, SEM, and mechanical testing. Based on the consideration of thermal and mechanical properties, it was found that the clay content of 11 wt.‐% was optimal for the preparation of POE‐g‐MAH/clay nanocomposites. The POE‐g‐MAH/clay/WF hybrid could obviously improve the mechanical properties of POE‐g‐MAH/WF hybrid since the former had the smaller WF phase size (being always less than 1.5 µm), the SiOC bond and the nanoscale dispersion of silicate layers in the polymer matrix. The biodegradation studies showed that the mass of hybrids reduced by about the content of WF. The new POE‐g‐MAH/clay/WF nanocomposites produced from our laboratory can provide a plateau tensile strength at break when the WF content was up to 50 wt.‐%.

Modification of biodegradable polylactide by silica and wood flour through a sol–gel process

“…For the case of PLA-g-AA/WF (30 wt %), Figure 4(B), besides the common peaks appear in the spectrum of PLA/WF (30 wt %) blend, there is a new absorption peak (at about 1738 cm 21 ) corresponding to the ester carbonyl stretching vibration in the copolymer. According to the result proposed by our previous study, 34 there was an absorption peak at 1735 cm 21 for the ester carbonyl group. So, the appearance of this new absorption peak at about 1738 cm 21 may be due to the formation of an ester carbonyl functional group from the reaction between À ÀOH groups of WF and À ÀCOOH groups of PLA-g-AA.…”

Effect of organoclay platelets on the mechanical properties of wood–plastic composites formulated with virgin and recycled polypropylene

“…This indicates the nanoclay was dispersed more uniformly through the polymer matrix at low concentrations (3 wt%) to increase the surface attraction between the clay and the polymer matrix. One possible reason for this kind of behaviour may be attributed to the agglomeration of the nanofillers or the fillerÁfiller interaction, resulting in induced local stress concentration in the nanocomposites and reduction in the clay aspect ratio, thereby reducing the contact surface area between the organoclay and the polymer matrix and formation of agglomerated clay tactoids (Liao & Wu, 2005;Mohanty & Nayak, 2007;Maji et al, 2009;Kord et al, 2010).…”

“…Homogeneous dispersion of the hydrophilic clay minerals and organic fillers in the hydrophobic polymer matrix is not realized because there are no polar groups in the backbone of polymers (Liao & Wu, 2005). Ammonium surfactants are usually used to modify montmorillonite clay to achieve better interaction between the hydrophilic aluminosilicate and the organophilic polymer matrix (Maji et al, 2009).…”

Preparation and Characterization of Polymer-Grafted Montmorillonite-Lignocellulose Nanocomposites by In Situ Intercalative Polymerization

“…The nanocomposite showed a degradation temperature of 425 ∘ C compared with 343 ∘ C for the raw lignocellulose. The increased thermal stability can be attributed to the presence of clay in the lignocellulose matrix [11]. The TGA thermogram and the FTIR spectrum of the MPS-grafted lignocellulosemontmorillonite nanocomposite show NaMMT was incorporated into the lignocellulose matrix.…”

“…Wang et al, 2003 [10], investigated the mechanical properties, water absorbency, and morphology of poly(propylene)/wood flour/ organophilic clay nanocomposites. Poly(ethylene-octene) elastomer-clay-wood flour nanocomposites prepared by melt blending showed an improvement in the mechanical and tensile strength and the thermal stability of the resultant nanocomposites was observed [11]. Poly[methylene-(polyphenyl isocyanate)], aminopropyltriethoxysilane, maleated polypropylene, and copper metallic complex have proved to be effective coupling agents for this composite system [12].…”