Preparation of (ethylene-methacrylic acid) copolymer/vermiculite composites

Abstract

In this research, the effect of modified filler on mechanical properties of polymer/clay composite was studied. Firstly, the filler - vermiculite was modified by two methods. Former one was done by hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide, the latter by maleic anhydride. The level of clay modification was determined by X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Further, the fillers were compounded with the polymer matrix Surlyn 8920. The level of filler dispersion in polymer was studied by X-ray diffraction and their influence on physical properties was found by mechanical test. Their results showed that tensile modulus increased, while the tensile stress decreased for treated filler compounds.