Preparation and characterization of PBT nanocomposites compounded with different montmorillonites

Because of their superior mech. and thermal properties, light wt., and favorable cost/performance ratio, nanocomposite materials appear to be suitable replacements for metals and alloys in many industrial applications in fields such as automotive, structural plastics, electronics, packaging, and so on (1). The technol. relevance of this large-scale market for polymers is evidenced by the numerous patents issued over the last few years, even though only few applications have entered the market. Polymer-clay nanocomposite systems were successfully prepd. by melt compounding using several thermoplastic matrixes (polyamides, polyolefins, etc.), but few data are reported in the scientific literature on polyester-based nanocomposites. Because of the high com. relevance of polyesters, we have studied the effect of organoclay inclusion on the structure and properties of these hybrid systems. In particular, we have studied the relationships between processing conditions, hybrid compn. (organoclay type and content), nanoscale morphol. and properties of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) nanocomposites based upon several com. organo-modified montmorillonites at different wt. percentages. The melt compounding was performed using a twin-screw extruder, at extrusion rates of 90 or 150 rpm.