Melt-spinning of LDH/HDPE nanocomposites

Melt-spinning of layered double hydroxide (LDH)/high density polyethylene (HDPE) nanocomposites was reported for the first time. Initially LDH/HDPE nanocomposites were prepared by melt-mixing, in which clay loadings were up to 3 wt% while compatibilizer to clay ratio was kept to be 2:1. LDHs were hydrophobically modified by hexadienoic acid, tetradecanoic acid, and octadecanoic acid to overcome the incompatibility between matrix polymer and LDH. The organomodified LDH showed different interlayer arrangements. Both the modifications and the processing conditions affected the properties of melt-spun fibers. Nanocomposites were rheologically characterized by using a classical semi-quantitative method and additionally by a rather new method, which is an interpretation of Carreau-Yasuda model. Tetradecanoic acid modified LDH at 1 wt% filler loading was found to give most notable results.