New Polylactide-Layered Silicate Nanocomposites: Effect of Organically Modified Layered Silicates on Structure, Properties and Biodegradability
Suprakas Sinha Ray, Masami Okamoto, Kazunobu Yamada, Kazue Ueda
Advanced Polymeric Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Hisahata -2-12-1, Tempaku, Nagoya
JAPAN
Keywords: Polylactide, Nanocomposites, Properties
Understanding the structure/property relationship in polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites is of great importance in designing materials with desired properties. In order to understand these relations, a series of polylactide (PLA)–organically modified layered silicate (OMLS) nanocomposites have been prepared using a simple melt intercalation technique. Four different types of OMLS have been used to prepare nanocomposites, three are modified with functionalized ammonium salts while fourth one is a phosphonium salt modified OMLS. The structure of the nanocomposites in the nano-meter scale was characterized using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analyses and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. Using four types of layered silicates (LS) modified with four different types of surfactants, the effect of OMLS in nanocomposites was investigated by focusing on four major aspects: structural analysis, thermal properties and crystallite morphology, materials properties, and biodegradability. Finally, we will make conclusions about the structure/property relationship in case of PLA-OMLS nanocomposites.