Preparation and characterization of poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) ionomer/Na+-MMT nanocomposites

Polymer/clay based composite films were prepared by incorporating sodium montmorillonite (Na+- MMT) clay into poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid) (PEAA). The dispersion of the Na+-MMT particles in the PEAA/Na+-MMT nanocomposites was examined by TEM and XRD. TEM indicated that the average lateral dimension of the Na+-MMT particles in the PEAA/Na+-MMT nanocomposites was approximately 300 nm and their thickness was < 20 nm. XRD confirmed that the PEAA chains were intercalated into interlayers of Na+-MMT particles. The mechanical behavior of the PEAA/Na+-MMT nanocomposites with different Na+-MMT contents was examined using an Instron. The tensile strength increased with increasing Na+-MMT content. The thermal properties of the PEAA/Na+-MMT nanocomposites were also examined with reference to the TGA curves. The thermal resistance of the PEAA films showed visible improvement upon the addition of the Na+-MMT clay.