The characterization of high-density polyethylene/organoclay nanocomposites

Abstract

Research Summary Polymer-Matrix CompositesHow would you… …describe the overall signifi cance of this paper? This paper discusses the methodology for preparation of the nanocomposite and also the use of low-fi eld solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance as a technique to separate exfoliated and intercalated organoclay in the polymeric matrix.…describe this work to a materials science and engineering professional with no experience in your technical specialty?The authors describe an interesting work that involves a new characterization method to study polymeric nanocomposites. …describe this work to a layperson?This work presents a useful method to evaluate nanocomposites through nuclear magnetic resonance.Polymeric nanocomposites, which are hybrids of polymers and modifi ed inorganic clay with organic surfactants, are extremely attractive in both science and industry. These materials present improvements in such polymer properties as modulus, heat capacity, thermal stability, fl ame resistance, and so on. Research has been conducted in recent decades to obtain high-quality materials that can be used in applications like food packing, car components, and combustible cells. Polymeric nanocomposites present many advantages in relation to composites due to the quantity of fi ller added to the polymer and also to the improved properties. In a composite, the quantity of fi ller must be as high as possible (i.e., over 30%). In the polymeric nanocomposite the quantity of fi ller varies from 1% to 5% because of the nanosize of the particles. These nanoparticles often have a large surface area that results in improved polymer-matrix properties. Ana M. Moreira is with RioPol, Balneário Jardim Santa Clara, Duque de Ca. Dr. Tavares can be reached at mibt@ima.ufrj.br.

Organoclay-modified electrodes: preparation, characterization and recent electroanalytical applications

“…Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an important tool employed to study both molecular structure and dynamic behaviour of organoclays since it can generate new support and responses on the intermolecular interaction and the structural organization and even on the dynamic behaviour of the nanocomposite clays [73]. Depending on the method used to modify a given clay mineral, NMR can give rise to information such as hydrogen relaxation data for the samples measured by low-field NMR [73] or peaks characterized by chemical shifts corresponding to a sequence of elements linked by chemical bonds.…”

“…Depending on the method used to modify a given clay mineral, NMR can give rise to information such as hydrogen relaxation data for the samples measured by low-field NMR [73] or peaks characterized by chemical shifts corresponding to a sequence of elements linked by chemical bonds. For example, during the grafting of montmorillonite by APTES (aminopropyltriethoxysilane) [74,75], solid-state 29 Si MAS NMR spectra of the silylated products showed two prominent T 2 [Si(OSi) 2 (OR′)R] and T 3 [Si(OSi) 3 R] (R=CH 2 CH 2 CH 2 NH 2 , R′=H or CH 2 CH 3 ), implying the formation of polysiloxane oligomers (T stands for tetrafunctional units and the superscript is the number of bridging O atoms surrounding the silicon atom) [76].…”

Influence of Organoclay Structure on Nanostructured Materials Based on Eva

“…One of the best advantages of nanocomposites is related to the quantity of nanoparticles added to the polymer matrix compared to the normal composite. In a conventional composite, the quantity of filler must be as high as possible (i.e., over 30 wt%), whereas in a polymer nanocomposite the quantity of filler varies from 1 to 5 wt% or less than 1%, because the nanometric dimensions of the particles provide a larger surface area in relation to volume, generally causing good improvement in the polymer's properties [6].…”

Spectroscopic Techniques for the Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposites: A Review

“…Polymer/clay nanocomposites have also been characterized by solid-state NMR spectroscopy in order to study the phase structure and chain dynamics in the exfoliated and intercalated nanocomposites, changes in the molecular mobility, or the interactions between the two components [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. 13 C and 1 H were used to analyze the segmental dynamics of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chains in a model polymer/laponite intercalated phase [ 55 ].…”