Effect of the Organoclay Structure on Morphology and Rheological Response of PBT Nanocomposites

In this paper the effect of different organoclays on the structure and the rheological properties of poly(butyleneterephtalate)–clay nanocomposites produced by melt compounding was investigated. The study was carried out using as nanometric fillers four commercial montmorillonites, treated with different organic modifiers and having similar interlayer spacing and organo-modifier concentration. Each organoclay was melt compounded with PBT (at 3%, 6% and 9% by weight of clay) using a twin screw extruder. Using the same processing conditions, hybrid samples containing the unmodified silicate were also prepared for comparison purposes. All the obtained nanocomposite samples were submitted to physico-chemical (XRD, TEM and FT-IR), and rheological measurements in order to evidence the role of polymer-clay affinity on the morphology and on the viscoelastic response of the materials. The results have pointed out that, with the used processing conditions, all nanocomposites exhibit a mixed intercalated/exfoliated structure; nevertheless, the clay dispersion homogeneity and the exfoliation level reached in the samples are higher for Nanofil 919 and Dellite 43B fillers, the organic modifiers of which may favorably interact with PBT matrix.