Thermal degradation and kinetic analysis of PVDF/modified MMT nanocomposite membranes

Polymer membranes including modified clay nanocomposite have been widely used in many applications. One typical group of them, which has more endurance at several conditions, is based on PVDF/modified montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite membranes. In this work, thermal behavior of the membranes is investigated by TG/DSC, where activation energies of membrane degradation are calculated by theoretical analysis. The thermal degradation occurs in two stages with different activation energies. The addition of modified MMT nanocomposite in PVDF membranes promote the reduction of activation energies (in Stage 1218 kJ/mol for pure PVDF, 187 kJ/mol for PVDF/MMT, and 172 kJ/mol for PVDF/modified MMT)