Polymer Clay Nanocomposites of Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and Polyoxymethylene (POM)

Abstract

Polymer-clay nanocomposites involving a blend of two otherwise incompatible thermoplastic polymers were prepared and investigated for the effects of adding organically modified clay. Linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polyoxymethylene (POM) at several composition ratios (70/30, 50/50, 30/70) were melt mixed with 5% Cloisite 15A and 5% Cloisite 30B, respectively. Their blends were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The LLDPE/POM (70/30) blend nanocomposites incorporating Cloisite 15A showed co-continuous morphology according to the SEM images, while those with Cloisite 30B showed some limited levels of compatibility. Further, Cloisite 15A improved the melting temperature of LLDPE and POM while Cloisite 30B had no significant effect on the LLDPE melting temperature but increased the melting temperature of POM. As for the LLDPE/POM (30/70) blends, Cloisite 15A made the two originally incompatible phases indistinguishable, while the blends containing Cloisite 30B showed a significant decrease in the domain sizes. However, the blend samples without organoclay incorporation did not exhibit any compatibility and the dispersed phase was totally segregated. TGA results showed that addition of clay decreased POM degradation temperature but there was no significant changes detected in PE's. The clay's compatibility with one or both polymers is shown to make a significant difference in the blend morphology and compatibilization mechanisms of the polymer-clay nanocomposites, which are phenomenologically explained in this paper.

Meeting Name

ANTEC 2008 Conference

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Nanocomposites; Polymer Blends

Document Type

Article - Conference proceedings

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 May 2008

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