Synthesis of poly(butylene terephthalate) nanocomposite by in-situ interlayer polymerization and characterization of its fiber (I)

Abstract

The nanocomposites with poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) incorporated between the montmorillonite (MMT) layers were synthesized from dimethyl terephthalate (DMT) and butane diol (BD) by using an in-situ interlayer polymerization approach. The PBT nanocomposites were melt spun at different organoclay contents to produce monofilaments. The existence of clay layers in the PBT was confirmed by using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, and those layers were found to be disperse on a nanometer scale. The thermal properties of the layered structures of the hybrids were found to be more stable than those of pure PBT. These improved thermal properties of the nanocomposites might arise from an extensive and strongly bonded interface between the organic and the inorganic components. Moreover, the addition of only a small amount of organoclay was enough to improve the mechanical properties of the PBT hybrid fibers.