Preparation of Polyethylene Terephthalate/Boehmite Nanocomposite via In-Situ Polymerization to Improve Heat Stability

Poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is a semi crystalline polymer with excellent chemical resistance, high strength, and spin ability. PET fiber is the textile industry s most widelyused synthetic polymer. However, its flammability and severe dripping during combustion greatly limits its applications.Polymer nanocomposites, containing layered silicates, have been studied extensively as a new generation of advanced composites that exhibit greatly improved mechanicalproperties, enhanced gas barrier properties, and fire retardancy. Among the layered nano fillers, montmorilloniteclay is one of the most widely used nano fillers for preparing polymer nano composites, due to its high ion-exchange capacity for attachment of surfactant molecules, and high aspect ratio for better barrier properties. It is well known that nano fillers can reinforce polymer matrices in composites.Numerous studies on the use of boehmite (AlOOH) as a nano filler have been undertaken in recent years. It has been notedthat nano boehmite can improve many polymer matrix properties. As far as we know, few reports on the thermal stability and flame-retardancy mechanisms of PET/AlOOHnano composites have been published. In this paper, we present a study of the heat stability mechanisms of PET/AlOOH composites using a series of methods [1-4].