Abstract
The field of nanocomposites technology is growing intensively, especially in the area
of polymer/clay nanocomposites [1]. Nanocomposites are a two phase system in which
one phase is dispersed in the second phase on a nanometer level [2], Current surface
treatment methods have not been successful in completely exfoliating polymer/clay
nanocomposites. This research developed a general method of surface and edge
treatments in order to help exfoliate organoclay into a given polymer. Several general
types of treatments were utilized. These included ion exchange, surface sorption of
polymers, and silane edge treatment. Melt compounding of polymer and clay was
conducted in a bowl mixer. Physical properties of each nanocomposite were tested by
DMT A and tensile testing. X-ray diffraction was also used to determine the extent of the
intercalation or exfoliation of polymer/clay nanocomposite.
