Preparation, characterization and properties of poly (vinyl chloride)/compatibilizer/organophilic-montmorillonite nanocomposites by melt intercalation

Poly (vinyl chloride)/compatibilizer/organophilic-montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites have been prepared by melt intercalation by the masterbatch process. PVC/OMMT nanocomposites have also been prepared by directly blending PVC with OMMT for comparison. All the composites were characterized by Wide-angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The results of WAXD and TEM indicate that PVC/VAc/OMMT nanocomposites with exfoliated structure have been successfully prepared, whilst partially intercalated and partially exfoliated PVC/OMMT nanocomposites have also been produced. Notched Charpy impact strengths of all the composites are dramatically enhanced compared with that of pristine PVC material. PVC/VAc/OMMT nanocomposites show higher values of tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength than PVC/OMMT nanocomposites, and nanocomposites containing more compatibilizer also display better mechanical properties. Impact strengths also display some peculiar dependence on OMMT content and give a maximum value at certain OMMT loadings, in this paper, 1phr. The OMMT content should be kept below 5phr in order to obtain good mechanical properties.