Properties of Poly(e-caprolactone)/Soy lecithin-modified Clay nanocomposites

DANILA MERINO; ROMINA OLLIER; MATIAS LANFRANCONI; VERA ALVAREZ

Porto de Galinhas

Simposio; XIV Latin American Symposium on Polymers and XII Ibero American Congress on Polymers.; 2014

Nano and micro composites of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared by melt blending the polymer with Na+-bentonite and bentonite modified with a natural surfactant, soy lecithin. Clays with different organic content were employed and composites containing 1 and 2 wt% of clay were prepared. Thermal analysis (by TGA and by DSC), and mechanical properties have been studied as a function of clay content. The results show a moderate increase in the elongation at break and tensile strength of the PCL nanocomposites compared to neat PCL. Moreover, the thermal stability of the nanocomposites were slightly increased.