Study of the processing conditions of PCL/clay nanocomposites: molecular weight degradation, thermal and mechanical properties

LEANDRO LUDUEÑA; VERA ALVAREZ; JOSÉ KENNY; ANALÍA VAZQUEZ

Monte Verità, Ascona, Suiza

Conferencia; The 10th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials (FPCM10); 2010

The effect of processing conditions on the thermal and mechanical properties of the pure polycaprolactone (PCL) and 5wt.% PCL/organo-modified clay nanocomposites was studied. The possibility of molecular weight degradation of the matrix was also analyzed. The different materials were prepared by double-screw micro-extruder changing barrel temperatures, screw rotation speed and resident time. It was demonstrated that the extrusion parameters have negligible effect on the molecular weight of the matrix and on the final thermal and mechanical properties of the matrix and the nanocomposites.