Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites
Nanocomposites give an innovative method to increase the mechanical, thermal, and barrier performance of polymers. However, properly dispersing the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix is often key in achieving high performance, especially in the case of hydrophilic nanoparticles and hydrophobic poly...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Nanotechnology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/1404196 |
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| author | Marek Weltrowski Patricia I. Dolez |
| author_facet | Marek Weltrowski Patricia I. Dolez |
| author_sort | Marek Weltrowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Nanocomposites give an innovative method to increase the mechanical, thermal, and barrier performance of polymers. However, properly dispersing the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix is often key in achieving high performance, especially in the case of hydrophilic nanoparticles and hydrophobic polymers. For that purpose, nanoparticles may be functionalized with organic groups to increase their affinity with the polymer matrix. Compatibilizing agents may also be included in the nanocomposite formulation. This paper aims at identifying parameters relative to the compatibilizer polarity that would allow predicting nanoparticle dispersion in the polymer nanocomposite. The analysis used published data on nanocomposite samples combining clay nanoparticles, polyolefins, and various compatibilizing agents. We studied the correlations between the nanoclay exfoliation ratio and five different parameters describing the compatibilizer hydrophilic-lipophilic balance: the acid value, the mole, and weight fraction of polar groups, the number of polymer chain units per polar group, and the number of moles of polar groups per mole of compatibilizer. The best correlation was observed with the number of polymer chain units per polar group in the compatibilizer. This parameter could be used as a tool to predict the dispersion of organoclay nanoparticles in polyolefins. Another important result of the study is that, among the compatibilizers investigated, those with a low acid value provided a better nanoclay exfoliation compared to those with a high acid value. This may indicate the existence of a maximum in the nanoclay exfoliation/compatibilizer polarity curve, which would open new perspectives for nanocomposite performance optimization. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5c7078528eee4f2ba15b51c020e83ee1 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-9503 1687-9511 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Nanotechnology |
| spelling | doaj-art-5c7078528eee4f2ba15b51c020e83ee12025-02-03T05:57:37ZengWileyJournal of Nanotechnology1687-95031687-95112019-01-01201910.1155/2019/14041961404196Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin NanocompositesMarek Weltrowski0Patricia I. Dolez1CTT Group, 3000 Avenue Boullé, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec, J2S 1H9, CanadaDepartment of Human Ecology, University of Alberta, 331 Human Ecology Building, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2N1, CanadaNanocomposites give an innovative method to increase the mechanical, thermal, and barrier performance of polymers. However, properly dispersing the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix is often key in achieving high performance, especially in the case of hydrophilic nanoparticles and hydrophobic polymers. For that purpose, nanoparticles may be functionalized with organic groups to increase their affinity with the polymer matrix. Compatibilizing agents may also be included in the nanocomposite formulation. This paper aims at identifying parameters relative to the compatibilizer polarity that would allow predicting nanoparticle dispersion in the polymer nanocomposite. The analysis used published data on nanocomposite samples combining clay nanoparticles, polyolefins, and various compatibilizing agents. We studied the correlations between the nanoclay exfoliation ratio and five different parameters describing the compatibilizer hydrophilic-lipophilic balance: the acid value, the mole, and weight fraction of polar groups, the number of polymer chain units per polar group, and the number of moles of polar groups per mole of compatibilizer. The best correlation was observed with the number of polymer chain units per polar group in the compatibilizer. This parameter could be used as a tool to predict the dispersion of organoclay nanoparticles in polyolefins. Another important result of the study is that, among the compatibilizers investigated, those with a low acid value provided a better nanoclay exfoliation compared to those with a high acid value. This may indicate the existence of a maximum in the nanoclay exfoliation/compatibilizer polarity curve, which would open new perspectives for nanocomposite performance optimization.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/1404196 |
| spellingShingle | Marek Weltrowski Patricia I. Dolez Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites Journal of Nanotechnology |
| title | Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites |
| title_full | Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites |
| title_fullStr | Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites |
| title_full_unstemmed | Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites |
| title_short | Compatibilizer Polarity Parameters as Tools for Predicting Organoclay Dispersion in Polyolefin Nanocomposites |
| title_sort | compatibilizer polarity parameters as tools for predicting organoclay dispersion in polyolefin nanocomposites |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/1404196 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marekweltrowski compatibilizerpolarityparametersastoolsforpredictingorganoclaydispersioninpolyolefinnanocomposites AT patriciaidolez compatibilizerpolarityparametersastoolsforpredictingorganoclaydispersioninpolyolefinnanocomposites |