The nucleating effect of montmorillonite on crystallization of PET/montmorillonite nanocomposite

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were prepared by solution intercalation method. The clay was organo-modified with intercalation agent of cetyltrimetylammonium chloride (CMC). XRD showed that the layers of MMT were intercalated by CMC. Four nanocomposites with organoclay contents of 1, 5, 10, and 15 wt% were prepared by solution blending. XRD showed that the interlayer spacing of organoclay in the nanocomposites depends on the amount of organoclay. The nucleating effect of organoclay is investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis. Clay behaves as a nucleating agent and enhances the crystallization rate of PET. Maximum enhancement in crystallization rate for the nanocomposites was observed in blends containing ca. 10 wt% of clay in the range of 1-15 wt%. According to transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the organoclay particle was highly dispersed in the PET matrix without a large agglomeration of particles for low organoclay content (5 wt%). Agglomerated structure did form in the PET matrix at 15 wt% organoclay content.