Effects of clay dispersion on the foam morphology of LDPE/clay nanocomposites

Intercalated and exfoliated low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/clay nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending with and without a maleated polyethylene (PE-g-MAn) as the coupling agent. Their morphology was examined and confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of clay content and dispersion on the cell morphology of nanocomposite foams during extrusion foaming process were also thoroughly investigated, especially with a small amount of clay of 0.05–1.0 wt%. This research shows the optimum clay content for achieving microcellular PE/clay nanocomposite foams blown with supercritical CO2. It is found that 109 cells/cm3 and a cell size of ∼ 5 μm. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 2129–2134, 2007

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