STRATEGIES FOR POLYCAPROLACTONE - CLAY NANOCOMPOSITE FILMS PREPARATION

LEANDRO N. LUDUEÑA; VERA A. ALVAREZ; ANALÍA VAZQUEZ

Santiago de Compostela ,España

Conferencia; FIRST Young Polymer Scientists Conference and Fifth Short Course on Block Copolymer-Based Nanomaterials; 2007

European Center of Nanostructured Polymers (ECNP); Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM) - Italy; Universidade de Santiago de Compostela - Spain

Nanocomposites of C30B and PCL were prepared by two techniques: casting (laboratory scale technique) and intensive mixing. In the case of casting, dichloromethane produced holes in the evaporation surface decreasing the mechanical properties. An appropriate solvent is critical in the application of this technique. In both cases, a mixed clay structure, intercalated and exfoliated, coexisted in nanocomposites. The dispersion degree was higher for intensive mixing and no evidence of particles agglomeration was found while for casting the agglomeration of clay particles seems to begin at 7.5 wt. %.