Tailoring of Co-Continuous Polymer Blend Morphology: Joint Action of Nanoclays and Compatibilizers

The effect of both organoclay (Cloisite (R) 30B) and compatibilizers (EVA copolymer or MAgPE) on the morphology and mechanical properties is investigated with a special focus on co-continuous structures. For that purpose, LDPE and PBAT are selected as an inert/reactive polymer pair model. The influence of the nature of the nanoclay/compatibilizer pair on the morphology of the nanocomposite is studied by means of SEM and TEM. Depending on the compatibilizer, it comes out that the organoclay can be selectively located in either the polyolefinic or polyester phase while the interface is invariably stabilized by clay platelets. Interestingly enough, it appears that such a combination (organoclay plus compatibilizer) allows for tailoring the final properties of polymer blends.