Effect of o-MMT content on properties of Poly (vinyl chloride)/Poly (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) blends

Abstract

In this study, poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/poly(acrylonitrile styrene acrylate) (ASA)/ organophilic montmorillonite (o-MMT) nanocomposites were prepared and the effects of o-MMT content on the properties of PVC/ASA blends were investigated. The thermal stability, mechanical properties and water absorption percentages of the nanocomposites were studied. Surface morphology studies of the o-MMT containing blends were also performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) test results showed that o-MMT inclusion enhanced the thermal stability of PVC/ASA/o-MMT nanocomposites and the decomposition temperature at 50% weight loss (Td50) increased by 7.5 ˚C when the o-MMT content was 10 wt%. The tensile strength value of the neat blend was obtained as 32.51 MPa and found to increase as 36.01 MPa when the o-MMT content was 6 wt% in the system. The water absorption test results demonstrated that the water-resistance of the samples enhanced as the o-MMT content increased. Moreover, PVC/ASA blends exhibited a significant increase in the contact angle by the presence of hydrophobic o-MMT. The weathering test results demonstrated that the PVC/ASA/o-MMT nanocomposite films could be used for outdoor applications without apparently losing their properties.

Clay-reinforced PVC composites and nanocomposites

“…Stirring, shear mixing, and ultrasonication are the agitation forces that facilitate clay dispersion in the polymer solution. In the final step, the solvent is removed, leading to the reassembling of the polymer-intercalated clay and the nanocomposite formation [ 49 , 95 , [103] , [104] , [105] , [106] , [107] , [108] , [109] , [110] ]. It is noteworthy that the solvent evaporation rate is critical to the quality of the composite films.…”