Transport properties in polyurethane/clay nanocomposites as barrier materials: Effect of processing conditions

Polyurethane/clay nanocomposites were fabricated in solution and tested as gas barrier membranes. Natural montmorillonite was modified with various alkylammonium surfactants and incorporated into a polyurethane matrix. Permeation properties of the nanocomposites were studied as a function of process...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of membrane science 2009-07, Vol.337 (1), p.208-214
Main Authors: Herrera-Alonso, Jose M., Marand, Eva, Little, John C., Cox, Steven S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Barrier membranes
Gas permeation
Polymer/clay nanocomposites
Thermoplastic polyurethane
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Summary:Polyurethane/clay nanocomposites were fabricated in solution and tested as gas barrier membranes. Natural montmorillonite was modified with various alkylammonium surfactants and incorporated into a polyurethane matrix. Permeation properties of the nanocomposites were studied as a function of processing methodology. Pre-processing clay samples with sonication instead of plain stirring led to significantly better barrier properties, suggesting that dispersion of the clay particles is a critical factor. Fitting the experimental permeabilities with phenomenological models, which predict the effective permeability of polymer systems filled with barrier flakes as a function of flake concentration, led to unrealistically low values of calculated aspect ratios of the clay layers.
ISSN:0376-7388
1873-3123
DOI:10.1016/j.memsci.2009.03.045