Thermal properties and degradation behavior of poly(1,4-butylene adipate)/modified layered double hydroxide nanocomposites

In this study, poly(1,4-butylene adipate) (PBA)/organomodified layered double hydroxide (m-LDH) nanocomposites were synthesized and characterized as a new material for green materials use. m-LDH was initially prepared with magnesium nitrate hexahydrate, aluminum nitrate-9-hydrate, oleic acid, and sorbitol by a novel one-step coprecipitation method to intercalate the oleic acid and sorbitol organomodifier into the interlayer of the layered double hydroxide. The solution mixing process was then applied and shown to be an efficient method for fabricating the PBA/m-LDH nanocomposites. The m-LDH characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed a high interlayer spacing of 58.8 angstrom. The morphology and thermal properties of the PBA/m-LDH nanocomposites were characterized with XRD, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. It was shown that the m-LDH was well distributed in the PBA matrix and that the thermal properties of the PBA/m-LDH nanocomposites significantly improved with a loading of 0.1 wt % m-LDH. Finally, the biodegradability of the PBA/m-LDH nanocomposites was tested with lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens as a microbial catalyst. It was shown that an addition of m-LDH up to 0.5% resulted in a significant difference in terms of the biodegradability. After 120 h of degradation, the residual weight and surface morphology of the composite films were affected by the presence of m-LDH. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 42083.