• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.545-549
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• 2006

Blends of poly(acrylic acid- co-maleic acid) (PAM) with poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were pre -pared in distilled water PVA/PAM/saponite (PVA/PAM/SPT) nanocomposite films were prepared with various clay contents by using the solution intercalation method. The variations of the dispersion, morphology, and thermo-mechanical properties of the nanocomposites with clay content in the range 0 to 9 wt% were examined. Up to 3 wt% clay loading, the clay particles were homogeneously dispersed in the PVA/PAM blends. However, some agglomerated structures form in the polymer matrix above a clay content of 7 wt%. The thermal stability of the hybrids was increased linearly with increasing the clay loading up to 9 wt%. The maximum strength and modulus were obtained at a clay content of 7 wt%. Thus, the addition of small amounts of clay to the PVA/PAM blends produced PVA/PAM nano-composites with improved the thermo-mechanical properties.