Study on poly(ether ether ketone)/organically modified montmorillonite composites

Novel poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK)/organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) composites containing 0-10 wt-% fractions of OMMT were prepared by melting blending method and the microstructure, thermal and mechanical properties were investigated using different characterisation techniques. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the OMMT was well dispersed with microscale in the PEEK matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the glass transition temperature T-g and melt temperature T-m of PEEK/OMMT composites (POMCs) were hardly affected by the addition of OMMT, while the crystal temperature T-c decreased when the amount of OMMT excessed 1 wt-%. The data of thermogravimetric analysis exhibited that the thermal stability of POMCs in higher temperature region was better than that of pure PEEK. The results of mechanical properties test revealed that modulus and strength of POMCs increased with the content of OMMT, whereas the elongation at break and impact strength of POMCs decreased.