Mechanical and thermal properties of attapulgite clay reinforced polymethylmethacrylate nanocomposites

To investigate the dispersion and nanofillers' interaction of rod‐like silicates (attapulgite, ATT) in the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix, a novel in situ modification of ATT by toluene‐2,4‐di‐isocyanate (TDI) using mechanical mixing was exploited, which resulted in homogeneous dispersion and rod‐like texture of ATT nanorods. As a consequence, organo‐modified ATT/PMMA nanocomposites were prepared, which provided prominent improvements in strength, toughness, and thermal stability. High grafting efficiency of TDI on ATT surface was confirmed by FTIR spectra and SEM observations. The uniform dispersion of in situ TDI modified ATT nanorods in the PMMA which was clearly visible in the TEM micrographs, influenced the mechanical and thermal properties of the nanocomposites. The fibrous nanoparticles significantly confined the segmental motion, causing a 13.20°C increase in the glass transition temperature of 2 wt% in situ TDI modified ATT/PMMA nanocomposites. But at higher loadings little or no differences were observed for the reinforcement benefits provided by the in situ TDI modified ATT clay. By comparison, pre‐treated ATT clay severely fractured during mechanical mixing and showed little reinforcement benefits. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.