Effects of organoclay platelets on morphology and mechanical properties in PTT/EPDM-g-MA/organoclay ternary nanocomposites

The addition of up to 6 part per hundred (phr) of an organoclay to a 80/20 (w/w) PTT/EPDM-g-MA blend led to ternary compounds that came together as a means of balancing stiffness/strength versus toughness/ductility. The effect of organoclay platelets on morphologies and mechanical properties of PTT/EPDM-g-MA/organoclay ternary nanocomposites had been studied by SEM, TEM, WAXD, and mechanical testing. For the 80/20 (w/w) blend, the clay platelets are located inside the dispersed domains of EPDM-g-MA phase. The clay platelets do not act effectively as a barrier for the coalescence of the dispersed domains. The complex viscosities (eta*) of the 80/20 (w/w) PTT/EPDM-g-MA blend increased with the amount of the organoclay increasing, which are proposed as the reason for the dispersed domain size (D) that becomes smaller at higher clay content. Mechanical tests show that the Young's modulus increases, whereas the tensile strength and the impact strength decrease when the content of the clay increases. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.