Novel polylactide/vermiculite nanocomposites by in situ intercalative polymerization. I. Preparation, characterization, and properties

Polylactide (PLA)/vermiculite nanocomposites were prepared by in situ intercalative polymerization of L,L-lactide (LLA) in the presence of organomodified vermiculite (VMT). The d-spacings of both the organomodified VMT and the exfoliated nanocomposites were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and the morphology of exfoliated nanocomposites was examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that there is some enhancement in degradation behavior between the nanocomposites and the PLA matrix. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) confirmed the constraint effect of exfoliated VMT layers on PLA chains, which is beneficial to the increased storage and loss modulus and increased glass transition temperature. The tensile strength showed that the exfoliated nanocomposites are reinforced and toughened by the addition of nanometer-size vermiculite layers. POLYM. COMPOS., 28:545–550, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers