Preparation and Characterization of Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Nanoclay Nanocomposite Foams

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) foams are rigid open-cell materials that possess good strength properties at low densities. Their abrasion resistance and resiliency when wet as well as theirhigh water absorption capacity and excellent chemical stability make them excellent choices for various applications,such as, washcloths, mops and surgical pads[1]. On the other hand, polymer nanocomposites have drawn a great deal of interest because of potential to achieve great improvement in properties including dimensional stabilityand mechanical properties by adding a small amount of nanoparticles in thepolymer matrices [2]. Recently, Mallakpour et al. have prepared PVA/organoclay nanocomposites with enhancedthermal stability [4]. In the present work, we preparedPVA/organoclay nanocomposite foams in order to study influence of incorporation of organoclay into PVA on cellular morphology as well as water absorption capacity of the foams