Synthesis and characterization of organo-clay based thermotropic liquid crystalline polyester nanocomposites

Abstract

A thermotropic liquid crystalline polyester (TLCP) containing a side group was synthesized from ethoxyhydroquinone and bromoterephthalic acid. Intercalation of TLCP in layered clays is accomplished by heating the polymer with hexadecyl ammonium-montmorillonite (C-16-MMT) above melting transition temperature (T-m). Liquid crystallinity of the TLCP/C-16-MMT hybrid was observed up to 6 wt% C-16-MMT. Some of the C-16-MMTs in TLCP were highly dispersed in a nanometer scale, but some of them were agglomerated. Thermal and morphological properties of the nanocomposites were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), polarized optical microscope, and electron microscopes (SEM and TEM).