Sharif Digital Repository

Epoxy-clay nanocomposites were prepared using silane modified montmorillonite. The clay was first purified using a 1-inch hydrocyclon apparatus. The purified clay was modified with various amounts of (γ)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane as a modifier. The synthesized organoclay was mixed and swollen by a mixture of epoxy resin and stoichiometric amount of curing agent at different temperature, mixing time and agitation. Finally, the compounds were cured in an oven at 90 °C for 2 h. The nanostructure materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the impurities and large particles (greater than 5 microns) are... 

A ternary dielectric is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and organoclay (OC) nanocomposites, through mixing granuls of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The morphological properties of nanocomposites are examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which intercalate/exfoliate morphology of clay particles. It is shown that the electrical and mechanical properties of HDPE/EVA binary blend will be enhanced significantly when OC was treated with EVA compound. The insulation material which is developed in this work can be employed to insulate the adjacent core steel sheets of a high voltage transformer  

This work introduces a new gradient fiber coating for microextraction of chlorobenzenes. Nanoclusters of organoclay-Cu(II) on a copper wire were fabricated by wireless electrofunctionalization. The resultant gradient coatings are more robust, and thermally and mechanically stable. Wireless electrofunctionalization was carried out in a bipolar cell under a constant deposition potential and using an ethanolic electrolyte solution containing stearic acid and montmorillonite. Stearic acid acts as an inexpensive and green coating while montmorillonite acts as a modifier to impart thermal stability. The gradient morphology of the nanoclusters was investigated by scanning electron microscopy,... 

Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites have been noticed recently due to their outstanding properties. The mechanical properties and deformation mechanism of epoxy/montmorillonite nanocomposites under compressive and flexural loadings were investigated. A reduction in compressive and flexural yield stress and also glass transition temperature with increasing the amount of organoclay was observed. This change in mechanical behavior of epoxy can be explained with observation of plastic deformation mechanism. The study of deformation mechanism revealed that presence of organoclay accelerates shear yielding in epoxy. Microscopic evaluation illustrated that nanoparticles in this system act as... 

Natural and modified clays were applied as adsorbents for the removal of organic contaminants from wastewater. This study presents an investigation on the technical feasibility of using modified minerals that are named organoclay for treatment of dissolved substances, mainly polyphenols in olive mill wastewater. The different parameters such as applied cation dosage were effective on the removal of contaminants by these adsorbents (%CEC), pollutant concentration, pH and particle size of minerals. In this investigation bentonite particles were modified by stirring the clay with a long chain quaternary ammonium cation. Doses of the applied cation varied from zero to 1.5 times the clay CEC.... 

In this research, polypropylene (PP) nanocomposite films were prepared by melt intercalation method and their properties have been evaluated. To facilitate the formation of either intercalated or exfoliated nanocomposites, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) was used as a compatibiliser. Morphology of composites was determined by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD and TEM analyses confirmed that increasing of EVA content leads to achievement of intercalated nanocomposites. Furthermore, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement indicated a decrease in crystallinity, melting point and crystallization temperature. Also, permeability tests showed... 

Polystyrene/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt intercalation method in this research. Morphology, tensile and impact properties and deformation mechanism of the samples were studied. To study the structure of nanocomposites, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques are utilized. The deformation mechanisms of different samples were examined via reflected and transmitted optical microscopy. The results reveal that incorporation of organoclay affects structure, mechanical properties and deformation mechanism of nanocomposite. Introduction of organoclay can facilitate initiation and growth of crazing mechanism in polystyrene at both conditions of loadings,... 

Polyamide 66/SEBS-g-M alloys and their nanocomposites were prepared by melt compounding using a twin screw extruder. The mechanical properties, rheological behavior and morphology of these alloys and their nanocomposites were investigated. Morphological investigations with different methods show pseudo-one-phase type morphology for these prepared alloys at all percentage of rubber. Impact and tensile tests results showed that rubber toughened samples exhibit significantly more impact strength and elongation at break comparing to virgin Polyamide. Samples with 20% of rubber show impact strength about 15 times and elongation at yield several times more than those of virgin Polyamide. So, these... 

In this investigation, core-shell rubber particles and organically modified clay were added to an epoxy resin and the changes in mechanical behavior were studied. As expected, the yield strength of the organoclay-filled epoxies increased modestly with increasing clay content and the yield strength of the rubber-modified compounds decreased with rubber content. Interestingly, the compressive yield strength of epoxy resins containing both rubber particles and organoclay (a.k.a. hybrid nanocomposites) was found to be independent on organoclay content (up to 5 phr). The fracture toughness of organoclay-filled epoxies increased modestly with clay content and, as expected, the increases in... 

Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanocomposites were prepared via melt, solution, and co-precipitation mixing methods using Cloisite 30B as organoclay. The results from X-ray diffraction patterns display intercalation or exfoliation of nanoclay depending on the nanocomposite preparation method. The solvent cast and co-precipitated samples showed exfoliation, while intercalation was observed in the nanocomposites prepared by melt mixing. Introducing organoclay induced formation of β-crystals in the PVDF nanocomposites as evidenced by XRD and FT-IR. FT-IR analysis indicated that the samples prepared by the co-precipitation method had a higher tendency for β phase formation, while the sample... 

In this study organically modified nanoclay were prepared by exchanging of the cetyltrimethylammonium (CTAB), with inorganic/metal ions/cations in montmorillonite structure. To investigate the influence of the amount of modifier on basal spacing and subsequent removal efficiency of hydrocarbon, different amount of modifier was used. The modified and unmodified nanoclays characterized by XRD, CHN and FTIR techniques. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the interlayer spacing of CTAB-modified clays increased from 12 to 22Å. The effectiveness of the sorbent materials for sorption of a range of products was investigated using crude oil, kerosene, gasoline and toluene. The process... 

In this research work, to reduce permeability of polyethylene vinyl acetate) packaging films, organoclay nanocomposites of these thermoplastics were prepared by solution method. Organoclay are mixed with polyethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) with 18 and 28% of vinyl acetate (VA) content in solution phase. Solutions of 3, 5 and 7% of organoclay are prepared under reflux condition and then nanocomposite films are prepared by thermal phase inversion method. Morphological and gas barrier properties of different prepared samples have been investigated. Morphology of prepared nanocomposite films and order of exfoliation of clay were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron... 

In this research, the effects of crosslinking agent and clay content on the morphology, barrier and mechanical properties of ethylene vinyl acetate-organoclay nanocomposites prepared by solution method were studied. Dicumyl peroxide has been used as crosslinking agent. The morphology of the prepared nanocomposites was investigated using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopyindicated that the prepared nanocomposites had predominantly intercalated morphologies. The obtained results of permeability tests showed that the permeability of ethylene vinyl acetate films dramatically decreases with addition... 

The influence of electron beam (EB) irradiation and organoclay (OC) loading on the properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) blends was investigated. The samples were subjected to the EB irradiation with the dose values of 50 and 250kGy. X-ray diffraction (XRD), gel content, mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties were utilized to analyze the characteristics of the LDPE/EVA blends with and without OC at different irradiation dosages. Gel content analysis showed that the OC promotes considerably the insoluble part so that the LDPE/EVA blends filled with OC become fully crosslinked at 250kGy; possibly through the formation of further crosslinks between... 

Polystyrene- (Styrene Ethylene Butylene Styrene-Maleic Anhydride) (SEBS-MA) composites with/without organoclay were prepared by melt intercalation method. The morphology, tensile and impact properties and deformation mechanism of these compounds were investigated. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and reflected and transmitted optical microscopy techniques were used to study the morphology and deformation mechanisms. The results show that incorporation of SEBS with/without organoclay notably affects morphology, mechanical properties and plastic deformation of polystyrene. Introduction of SEBS with/without organoclay can facilitate initiation and growth of crazing mechanism... 

Copolypropylene/organoclay nanocomposites are prepared by melt intercalation method in this research. Two different routes for addition of compatibilizer are examined, i.e. addition in the twin-screw extruder along with the polymer and the clay powder simultaneously and premixing the compatibilizer with the reinforcement in a batch mixer before addition to the polypropylene (PP) matrix. Morphology, tensile and impact properties and deformation mechanisms of the samples made via two procedures are studied and compared with those of the noncompatibilized system. To study the structure of nanocomposites, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques are utilized. The... 

Novel polyampholytic superabsorbing nanocomposites based on the zwitterionic sulfobetaine monomer [3-(methacrylamido)propyl)]dimethyl(3- sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide were synthesized through in situ polymerization in aqueous solution with different contents of an organo-modified clay (OMMT, Cloisite 30B). Structural and thermomechanical properties of hydrogels were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, and DMTA, respectively. Swollen gel strength of hydrogels was determined by a rheological method. Storage modulus of the hydrogels was considerably improved in comparison with its the clay-free counterpart. The nanocomposite hydrogel containing 15% OMMT possessed the highest gel strength. The glass... 

Nanocomposites of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and two different montmorillonite-based organoclays were prepared by a co-rotating twin screw extruder. Dispersion of nanoclays in the polymer matrix was examined by TEM and XRD. Nanocomposites with lower content of organoclay showed exfoliated morphology while by increasing the amount of organoclay the intercalated morphology was more prevalent. Both organoclays had a good intercalation with PET and were uniformly dispersed within the polymer. Oxygen permeability of thin films of nanocomposites showed that the nanocompo-sites had better oxygen barrier properties than the neat PET. Tensile and impact properties of the nanocomposites also were... 

In this article, oxygen barrier properties of nanocomposite films composed of organoclay (OC), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer have been investigated. The nanocomposite films whose EVA forms a dominant fraction were prepared using the solution method. The dispersion of the OC in the HDPE/EVA blend was improved through taking two-step procedure in the preparation of nanocomposite. First, the OC and EVA were dissolved in chloroform. Then, the resulting product, after evaporating most of the solvent, along with HDPE was dissolved in xylene. The obtained nanocomposite films underwent a number of tests in order to examine their barrier properties... 

This study intends to replace polyethylene multi-layer films used in food packaging industry with single-layer polyethylene nanocomposites films. Nanocomposites of LDPE/LLDPE/ montmorillonite organoclay were prepared by melt compounding in a twin extruder and then film blown to prepare thin films. LLDPE-g-MA was used as compatibilizer to achieve better interaction between the blend and organoclay. Various compositions of organoclay and compatibilizer were prepared. The structure of nanocomposites was characterized by XRD and TEM. Permeability properties were measured using a permeability measuring set-up and aspect ratio of the particles was evaluated using permeability data. The results...