Tensile, fatigue and thermomechanical properties of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) nanocomposites incorporating low and high loadings of pre-swelled organically modified montmorillonite. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Abdul Hamid, Asna Rasyidah; Osman, Azlin Fazlina; Mustafa, Zaleha; Mandal, Subrata; Ananthakrishnan, Rajakumar
• Is Part Of: Polymer testing. Volume 85(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl-acetate) -- Organically modified montmorillonite -- Fatigue -- Tensile toughness -- Thermomechanical; Polymers -- Testing -- Periodicals; Polymères -- Tests -- Périodiques; 620.1920287
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2020.106426
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0142-9418

Abstract

Abstract: The production of exfoliated polymer/clay based nanocomposites is crucial to obtain an actual benefit of nanoscale reinforcement in the polymer matrix. In this project, the production of exfoliated polymer/clay nanocomposite was aimed through the use of poly(ethylene- co -vinyl acetate) (EVA) copolymer as matrix and organically modified montmorillonite (O-MMT) as nanofiller. The research work involved the use of pre-swelled technique through magnetic stirring and ultra-sonication to obtain more readily exfoliated and dispersed O-MMT nanofiller for EVA nanocomposite production. The aims were to allow the improvement in O-MMT exfoliation and dispersion when the nanofiller was incorporated in high loading (greater than 3 wt%) into the copolymer. The original and pre-swelled O-MMTs were employed to produce the EVA/O-MMT nanocomposites with 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 wt% nanofiller by melt compounding technique. The results of TEM, tensile and fatigue tests, XRD, FTIR and DMA proved that the pre-swelling technique applied on the O-MMT before melt compounding with the EVA copolymer can bring positive impact to the performance of the nanocomposite. As opposed to the original O-MMT, the pre-swelled O-MMT has the ability to improve the tensile toughness, cyclic stability and storage modulus of the EVA copolymer even when high O-MMT loading (7 wt %) was employed. Improvement in the EVA - O-MMT interactions in the nanocomposite system was postulated to be the main reason for such observations. Highlights: Pre-swelled technique to obtain exfoliated O-MMT nanofiller for EVA nanocomposite. Pre-swelled O-MMT enhanced tensile and fatigue properties of the EVA. Pre-swelling allows the use of high O-MMT loading in the EVA nanocomposite system. Pre-swelled O-MMT enhanced thermomechanical properties of the EVA copolymer. Pre-swelling using water is a simple, economic and safe method for exfoliating O-MMT.