Recycled PET nanocomposites improved by silanization of organoclays

Abstract

Recycled PET/organo-modified montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared via melt compounding as a promising possibility of the used beverage bottles recovery. According to our previous work, the three suitable commercial organoclays Cloisite 25A, 10A, and 30B were additionally modified with [3-(glycidyloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane, hexadecyltrimethoxysilane and (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane. The selected organoclays were compounded in the concentration 5 wt % and their degree of intercalation/delamination was determined by wide-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Modification of Cloisite 25A with [3-(glycidyloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane increased homogeneity of silicate layers in recycled PET. Additional modification of Cloisite 10A and Cloisite 30B led to lower level of delamination concomitant with melt viscosity reduction. However, flow characteristics of all studied organoclay nanocomposites showed solid-like behavior at low frequencies. Silanization of commercial organoclays had remarkable impact on crystallinity and melt temperature decrease accompanied by faster formation of crystalline nuclei during injection molding. Thermogravimetric analysis showed enhancement of thermal stability of modified organoclays. The tensile tests confirmed significant increase of PET-R stiffness with organoclays loading and the system containing Cloisite 25A treated with [3-(glycidyloxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane revealed combination of high stiffness and extensibility, which could be utilized for production of high-performance materials by spinning, extrusion, and blow molding technologies. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.