Polymethylmethacrylate grafting onto polyvinyl alcohol/modified feldspar composites: preparation, properties and structure characterization

The orthogonal experiment design methods were used to select the optimal conditions of preparation for modified feldspar via conventional wet method with silane coupling agent KH570. The optimum scheme was followed by: reaction time 1.5 h, modifier content 8 wt%, pulp density 12 wt%, reaction temperature 70 °C, respectively. Furthermore, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/modified feldspar composites were prepared with feldspar coated with silane coupling agent KH570 via solution method. To improve the water resistance of PVA-based composites, polymethylmethacrylate grafted onto PVA/modified feldspar composites (PMMA-g-PVA) was obtained by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). PVA/modified feldspar composites before and after SI-ATRP were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analyzer, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, successively. The tensile performance and water resistance of PVA/modified feldspar composites were tested by mechanical test and contact angle, respectively. It was shown that 5 wt% of modified feldspar could significantly improve the tensile strength of PVA-based composites. Moreover, both thermal stability and hydrophobicity for PVA/modified feldspar composites were distinctly enhanced after SI-ATRP. In all, this study provided an effective and feasible method for optimizing interface performance and enhancing the water resistance of PVA-based composites.