Nanocomposites based on polyethylene and Mg-Al layered double hydroxide. I. Synthesis and characterization

Low density polyethylene (LDPE)/Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites have been synthesized with different compositions by melt-mixing technique using maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene as compatibilizer. LDH has been modified by sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate using reconstruction method and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nanocomposites are characterized by different techniques such as, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), XRD and rheology. The TEM analysis shows a complex nature of particle dispersion in the polymer matrix with wide distribution of particles sizes and shapes. The rheological analysis showed significant changes in linear viscoelastic responses of the composites, even at very low concentration (2 phr) of LDH materials, in comparison to the pure polymer in low frequency regime in dynamic frequency sweep experiments. These changes are related to the LDHs-polymer chains interactions resulting in network-like structure.