Studies On The Preparation, Structure And Properties Of PVC-U/MMT Nanocomposites

Polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites are the newly developed materials and show excellent properties compared with conventional composites. Poly(vinyl chloride)(PVC), which is the second general plastic just following the product of polyethylene (PE), is widely applied in building, electrical parts, automobile, package and other fields of our common life. However for its poor thermal stability, low toughness and inferior processing ability, PVC is much difficult for further development in some aspects. A new method to exploit PVC' application is the nano-technology, which has been carried out by many researchers.In this paper, three methods were used to prepare PVC/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites. Especially the successful melt intercalation preparation was found to improve the properties of PVC. The methods are listed as follows:(1) Different modifiers were applied to modify the MMT. The experimental results showed that the organic modifier poly(ethylene oxide) poly(propylene oxide) (PEO-PPO (EP)) was more effective. The mechanochemical methods and the modifications with MMT through different solutions were also discussed.(2) EP was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF) to modify MMT and then melt mixed with PVC. According to WAXD analysis, the chains of EP have penetrated interlayers of MMT. The results of WAXD, SEM and TEM proved that the modified MMT was well dispersed in PVC in nano scale, indicating that the intercalated...