Material BehaviourThermal behaviour of poly(vinyl chloride) treated with montmorillonite-silica-3-triethoxysilyl-1-propanamine (K-Si-MMT) nanocomposites

Montmorillonite-silica-3-triethoxysilyl-1-propanamine (K-Si-MMT) is prepared using a sol-gel approach, and its effect on the thermal stability of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is investigated. The results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicate that silica nanoparticles attach to MMT and the MMT delaminates. The SEM images of PVC/treated MMT show that Si-MMT and K-Si-MMT both have better compatibility with PVC than MMT. The thermal degradation of PVC is studied using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Analysis shows that PVCs filled with MMT, Si-MMT and K-Si-MMT have better thermal stability than PVC. Moreover, grafting of nano-silica onto MMT improves the thermal stability of the PVC/MMT composite. The thermal degradation mechanism is also briefly discussed based on the TGA results.