Effect of interfacial interaction on mechanical properties of (polyurethane/organo-clay) composites

(Polyurethane/organo-clay) composites (PUCs) were synthesized from 4, 4′ -diphenyl methanediisocyanate (MDI), 1,4-butanediol (BD), poly(oxytetramethylene) glycol (PTMG, M_n=1979) and organo-clay. The organo-clays (DTAB-clay and NC12OH-clay) were prepared from dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) and hydroxyldodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (NC12OH) with natural-clay, respectively. And co-intercalated organo-clay (DTAB-NC12OH-clay) was prepared from DTAB, NC12OH and natural-clay. The expansion of distance between layer of organo-clays and mechanical properties of PUCs were investigated by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and tensile testing, respectively. And the DTAB-NC12OH-PUC and DTAB-PUC show peak at the lower angle than organo-clay in the WAXD profile. However, NC12OH-PUC showed no new peak in the WAXD profile. The DTAB-PUC and NC12OH-PUC showed decreasing tensile strength and strain at break. The DTAB-NC12OH-PUC showed good mechanical property compared with other PUC. These results suggested that the interfacial interaction affected to mechanical property of PUC.