Study of the structure and thermal characteristics of nanocomposites based on polyvinyl alcohol and intercalated montmorillonite

Abstract

The structure and thermal characteristics of nanocomposites based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and montmorillonite (MMT) intercalated with polyvinylpyrrolidone were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The modification of PVA with intercalated MMT reduces the degree of crystallinity of the resulting nanocomposites but significantly increases their thermal stability. Under ultrasound, the intercalated MMT was completely distributed in a PVA solution and formed a monocrystalline structure. Films based on PVA with modified MMT were cross-linked at 110°C in the presence of 5 wt% acrylic acid and 0.5 wt% Ferrous(II) sulfate as an initiator. The formed films have a homogeneous cross-linked structure.