Novel Polyvinyl Alcohol/Styrene Butadiene Rubber Latex/Carboxymethyl Cellulose Nanocomposites Reinforced with Modified Halloysite Nanotubes

Abstract

Novel polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) latex/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) nanocomposites were successfully prepared through physical blending. The as-obtained PVA/SBR/CMC/HNTs nanocomposites were coated on the surface of old corrugated container (OCC)-based paper in an effort to improve the mechanical properties of paper. To improve the dispersion of HNTs and enhance the compatibility between HNTs and polymer matrix, HNTs were modified with titanate coupling agent (TCA). FT-IR, together with TGA, confirmed that TCA was grafted onto the surface of HNTs successfully. XRD demonstrated that the crystal structures of HNTs remained almost unchanged. TEM showed that modified HNTs exhibited good dispersion and possessed nanotubular structures with an outer diameter of around 50 nm and an inner diameter of about 20 nm. SEM gave an indication that modified HNTs were dispersed more uniformly than unmodified HNTs within PVA/SBR/CMC matrix. Rheological measurement exhibited that surface modification process enhanced the compatibility between HNTs and polymer matrix, thus resulting in the decreased viscosity of nanocomposites. In comparison with unmodified HNTs, modified HNTs were found to contribute more to the enhancement in mechanical properties, which might be attributed to the better dispersion and compatibility of modified HNTs evidenced by TEM, SEM, and rheological measurement.

Surface Improvement of Halloysite Nanotubes

“…Apparently, XRD peaks of the modified HNTs nearly remained consistent with the neat HNTs. After surface modification, there was no indication of significant change in the XRD peaks, implying that the crystal structure of HNTs was not altered [33]. XRD patterns of S0, S05, S07, and S10.…”

Properties and Applications of Polyvinyl Alcohol, Halloysite Nanotubes and Their Nanocomposites

“…Some man-made polymers, which are made from non-renewable and non-biodegradable sources, such as PVA, are available [5]. Polymers that are biologically decomposable originate from petroleum-based synthetic materials, which decompose naturally under aerobic (composting) or anaerobic (landfill) conditions [6,7]. PVA is a widely used thermoplastic polymer that is benign to living tissues, harmless, and nontoxic.…”

“…Rates and environmental conditions for degradation may vary for many polymers, such as PVA [6,15,16,17,18]; these conditions include composting in the presence of oxygen, underneath soil layers, in aqueous media, and even in anaerobic circumstances. In the paper industry, several synthetic, copolymers, and conventional polymers, such as polyurethane (PU), polystyrene, and maleic anhydride SBR, SMA, polyacrylamide PAM, and PVA, are typically utilized to enhance the features and characteristics of paper by coating a film layer onto the whole sheet [7,19]. PVA is a major artificial polymer that has been available for more than nine decades.…”

Simultaneously Toughening and Strengthening Soy Protein Isolate-Based Composites via Carboxymethylated Chitosan and Halloysite Nanotube Hybridization

“…The UV-Vis spectra of the SPI-based films are shown in Figure 8 B. The transmission of Film a was 81.4% at a wavelength of 800 nm, while Film d was 56.1%, suggesting that the incorporation of HNTs enhanced visible light barrier performance, which is important for food packaging [ 42 ].…”