Morphology and performance of unsaturated polyester nanocomposites modified with organoclay and thermoplastic polyurethane

 Unsaturated polyester (UPR)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt compounding of thermoplastic polyurethane and unsaturated polyester prepolymer, and then mixing with the hybrids of styrene monomers and organoclay at ambient temperature. The crosslinking reaction eventually occurred through the unsaturated polyester prepolymer and styrene monomer. The morphology of the composites was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results show that the impact strength of UPR/TPU/organoclay nanocomposites increases obviously; the cure shrinkage decreases markedly, the glass transition temperature is enhanced and an elastic response to the deformation is prominent at the temperature above 10^oC.