Effect of modified montmorillonite by polyvinyl alcohol on properties of biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol and Vietnamese corn starch blends

Abstract

Biodegradable nanocomposite materials based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and corn starch (CS) blends were reinforced by montmorillonite (MMT) which had been modified by PVA under the solvent method at different quantities of MMT at 90o C in 4h. Then, the films of nanocomposite materials were obtained by water evaporating in oven at 60o C in 24h. The dispersion of MMT and structure of nanocomposite were investigated by using X-ray diffraction and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). The mechanical and thermal properties of nanocomposite were also studied in this research. The results showed the structure of obtained nanocomposite was intercalated and reinforced, and the thermal stability of nanocomposite significantly increased at 3%.wt MMT compared with PVA/CS blends.