Itaconic acid and amino alcohol functionalized polyethylene as compatibilizers for polyethylene nanocomposites

The compatibilization provided by itaconic acid (IA) and 2-[2-(dimethylamino)-ethoxy] ethanol (DMAE) functionalized polyethylene for forming polyethylene-based nanocomposites was studied and compared. IA was grafted into PE by melt mixing to obtain PEgIA (compatibilizer 1), thereafter, PEgIA was reacted with DMAE also by melt mixing to obtain PAgDMAE (compatibilizer 2). PE-clay nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing polyethylene with each of the two quaternary ammonium modified montmorillonite clays (Cloisite 30B and Nanomer I28E) plus each of the two previously prepared compatibilizers (PEgIA and PEgDMAE). FTIR characterization confirmed the formation of these two compatibilizers. All the compatibilized nanocomposites had better clay exfoliation–intercalated compared to the uncompatibilized PE nanocomposites. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy results, as well as the mechanical properties attained showed that the PEgDMAE with the I28E clay produced the better exfoliated–intercalated nanocomposites. Samples with C30B clay did not show any intercalation improvement, as compared to the uncompatibilized samples, which was attributed mainly to the smaller initial intergallery spacing of this clay. Finally, it is concluded that the PEgDMAE offers an outstanding capability for preparing highly exfoliated PE clay nanocomposites.