eXPRESS Polymer Letters (Apr 2013)

Reactive processing of maleic anhydride-grafted poly(butylene succinate) and the compatibilizing effect on poly(butylene succinate) nanocomposites

  • Z. A. Mohd Ishak,
  • Y. J. Phua,
  • W. S. Chow

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3144/expresspolymlett.2013.31
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 7, no. 4
pp. 340 – 354

Abstract

Read online

In this study, maleic anhydride-grafted poly(butylene succinate) (PBS-g-MA) was synthesized via reactive meltgrafting process using different initiator contents. The grafting efficiency was increased with the initiator content, manifested by the higher degree of grafting in PBS-g-MA. The grafting reaction was confirmed through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Then, PBS-g-MA was incorporated into organo-montmorillonite (OMMT) filled poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) nanocomposites as compatibilizer. Mechanical properties of PBS nanocomposites were enhanced after compatibilized with PBS-g-MA, due to the better dispersion of OMMT in PBS matrix and the improved filler-matrix interfacial interactions. This was verifiable through X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the degree of crystallinity and melting temperature increased after addition of PBS-g-MA. However, the presence of PBS-g-MA did not favor the thermal stability of the nanocomposites, as reported in the thermogravimetry (TGA).

Keywords