Preparation and Mechanical Properties of Compositionally Graded Polyethylene/Clay Nanocomposites

This paper presents the preparation and mechanical properties of compatibilized compositionally graded Polyethylene/ low density polyethylene (LDPE)/ modified montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites prepared by solution and melt mixing techniques. Use of polyethylene glycol as compatibilizer improves compatibility of modified montmorillonite and low density polyethylene.  Comparisons between two techniques show that the melt mixing technique is the preferred method for preparation the Polyethylene/Clay nanocomposites for uniform and compositionally graded distributions. It is observed, the addition of Nano clay improves the mechanical properties like tensile strength. Also, it is noticed the mechanical properties of compositionally graded Polyethylene/Clay nanocomposites are improved rather than the uniform distribution of Polyethylene/Clay nanocomposites. The morphology of nanocomposites cross section samples is studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and finally the comparison are made between two techniques and then between compositionally graded polyethylene/clay nanocomposites with uniform ones. Its show that when the compatibilizer was added for melt mixing technique, the density and the size of the aggregates decreased, which indicates that the dispersion of nano clays within the polymer matrix is much better.