Novel polylactide/vermiculite nanocomposites by in situ intercalative polymerization. I. Preparation, characterization, and properties

• DOI: 10.1002/pc.20329
• Publication Date: 2007-07-06T01:04:04Z
• Authors: Jian Hua Zhang; Wei Zhuang; Qiang Zhang; Baolei Liu; Wei Wang; Bai Xing Hu; Jian Shen
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0104 chemical sciences

AbstractPolylactide (PLA)/vermiculite nanocomposites were prepared by in situ intercalative polymerization of L,L‐lactide (LLA) in the presence of organomodified vermiculite (VMT). The d‐spacings of both the organomodified VMT and the exfoliated nanocomposites were investigated by X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and the morphology of exfoliated nanocomposites was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that there is some enhancement in degradation behavior between the nanocomposites and the PLA matrix. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) confirmed the constraint effect of exfoliated VMT layers on PLA chains, which is beneficial to the increased storage and loss modulus and increased glass transition temperature. The tensile strength showed that the exfoliated nanocomposites are reinforced and toughened by the addition of nanometer‐size vermiculite layers. POLYM. COMPOS., 28:545–550, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers