A new strategy to prepare polyethylene nanocomposites by using a late-transition-metal catalyst supported on AlEt3-activated organoclay

A new strategy for in situ polymerization was developed to prepare the polyethylene nanocomposites, in which a nickel alpha-diimine late-transition-metal catalyst supported on the AlEt3-activated organoclay was adopted to initiate the ethylene polymerization and to provide the reinforcement materials after the polymerization. It was found that the polymerization conditions such as reaction time, Al/Ni molar ratio, and reaction temperature affected the polymerization activity and the clay loading. The nanoscale dispersion of the clay layers in the polyethylene matrix was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). From the thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), it was found that the decomposition temperature of the nanocomposite with the organoclay of 11.91 wt% could be 46.8 degrees C higher than that of pure polyethylene when 30% weight loss was selected as a measuring point, showing enhanced thermal oxidation stability of this kind of polyolefin nanocomposites. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.