Thermo-mechanical behavior of poly(butylene terephthalate)/silica nanocomposites

In this work, experimental results about poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) based nanocomposites filled with various amounts of silica nanoparticles (NPs) are reported. Two different types of filler are used: silica gel NPs, produced through the Stober method, and a commercial fumed silica, both coated by a PBT shell. Melt-mixed samples have been thoroughly investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, wide and small angle X-ray diffraction, and dynamic mechanical analysis. A fine and very good dispersion of NPs into the polymeric matrix is revealed through the morphological analysis when St_ ober NPs were used as filler with respect to systems including commercial fumed silica particles. This evidence, combined with matrix-filler interactions revealed by FTIR spectroscopy, justifies the enhancement of both storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the former samples in comparison with reference pristine PBT. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.