In-Line Rheo-Optical Investigation of the Dispersion of Organoclay in a Polymer Matrix during Twin-Screw Compounding
Abstract
:1. Introduction
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- A rheo-optical die is coupled to a small-scale prototype twin screw extruder. The in situ characterization of the CPNC morphology and viscosity bypasses all issues related to a possible post-extrusion structural rearrangement.
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- A model CPNC, namely an organo-modified montmorillonite in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), is used. This CPNC can be processed at ambient or low temperatures (up to 100 °C, which is well below the onset for PDMS or organo-clay thermal degradation [24]). Indeed, PDMS with relatively low molecular mass has been used in the CPNC literature [25,26] as the rheological study of polymer dynamics in the presence of clay is readily amenable at room temperature. Similarly, PDMS has been used to study flow-induced structures in colloidal suspensions (see, e.g., [27] and references therein).
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- Processing this CPNC avoids the need to superimpose polymer melting with mixing.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Materials
2.2. Compounding and In-Process Characterization of CPNC
2.3. Off-Line Characterization of CPNC
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Rheological Characterization of the Polymer Matrix
3.2. Effect of Screw Speed
3.3. Effect of Temperature
3.4. Separating the Effects of Residence Time and Stress on the Level of Clay Dispersion
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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N (rpm) | t (s) a | σav (Pa) c | σmax (Pa) c | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20 | 382.5 | 11 | 6671 | 53,917 |
40 | 286.6 | 23 | 11,313 | 72,458 |
60 | 276.4 | 34 | 15,037 | 85,102 |
80 | 261.8 | 45 | 18,193 | 94,988 |
N = 40 rpm | = 4 s−1 | = 10 s−1 | = 43 s−1 | |||
R(μm) | ϕ(%) | R(μm) | ϕ(%) | R(μm) | ϕ(%) | |
No heating | 0.68 ± 0.01 | 1.18 ± 0.05 | 0.66 ± 0.01 | 1.24 ± 0.06 | 0.67 ± 0.01 | 1.20 ± 0.05 |
Heating | 0.58 ± 0.01 | 1.42 ± 0.04 | 0.58 ± 0.01 | 1.39 ± 0.03 | 0.61 ± 0.01 | 1.32 ± 0.05 |
N = 60 rpm | = 4 s−1 | = 10 s−1 | = 43 s−1 | |||
R(μm) | ϕ(%) | R(μm) | ϕ(%) | R(μm) | ϕ(%) | |
No heating | 0.64 ± 0.01 | 1.26 ± 0.05 | 0.64 ± 0.01 | 1.30 ± 0.06 | 0.62 ± 0.01 | 1.38 ± 0.05 |
Heating | 0.58 ± 0.01 | 1.35 ± 0.03 | 0.58 ± 0.01 | 1.45 ± 0.05 | 0.63 ± 0.01 | 1.30 ± 0.06 |
N = 80 rpm | = 4 s−1 | = 10 s−1 | = 43 s−1 | |||
R(μm) | ϕ(%) | R(μm) | ϕ(%) | R(μm) | ϕ(%) | |
No heating | 0.63 ± 0.01 | 1.32 ± 0.04 | 0.62 ± 0.01 | 1.27 ± 0.05 | 0.62 ± 0.01 | 1.42 ± 0.06 |
Heating | 0.63 ± 0.01 | 1.23 ± 0.04 | 0.63 ± 0.01 | 1.25 ± 0.03 | 0.63 ± 0.01 | 1.31 ± 0.03 |
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Teixeira, P.F.; Covas, J.A.; Hilliou, L. In-Line Rheo-Optical Investigation of the Dispersion of Organoclay in a Polymer Matrix during Twin-Screw Compounding. Polymers 2021, 13, 2128. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13132128
Teixeira PF, Covas JA, Hilliou L. In-Line Rheo-Optical Investigation of the Dispersion of Organoclay in a Polymer Matrix during Twin-Screw Compounding. Polymers. 2021; 13(13):2128. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13132128
Chicago/Turabian StyleTeixeira, Paulo F., José A. Covas, and Loïc Hilliou. 2021. "In-Line Rheo-Optical Investigation of the Dispersion of Organoclay in a Polymer Matrix during Twin-Screw Compounding" Polymers 13, no. 13: 2128. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13132128