Biodegradable Poly(lactic acid)/Organic-montmorillonite Nanocomposites: Preparation and Characterization

摘要

In this work, the biodegradable poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/organic-montmorillonite (O-MMT) nanocomposites were successfully prepared by the in situ polymerization intercalation process of D,L-lactide with organically-modified montmorillonite which was first treated by Cu cations and second treated by n-hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) cations. O-MMT was characterized by FT-IR and XRD, the results showed that Cu cations and CTAB cations had been inserted to the interlayer of MMT, and the interlayer spacing of CTAB-Cu-MMT (O-MMT) increased by 1.829nm. The biodegradable PLA/O-MMT nanocomposites were characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, TG, and the results showed that silicate layers were intercalated into the PLA matrix and the biodegradable PLA/O-MMT nanocomposites were of two different types: intercalated nanocomposites and exfoliated nanocomposites. This new nanocomposites frequently exhibited remarkable improvements when compared with the neat PLA matrix. Improvements could include increased heat distortion temperature, an increase in the biodegradability rate of biodegradable polymers.