Correlation of the structure of clay f illed polyurethane with surface properties

The surface properties of rectorite (REC) directly affect the dispersion of rectorite in the polymer mat rixand make a great cont ribution to the st ructure and mechanical properties of composite materials. The inverse gaschromatography ( IGC) was used to investigate the dispersive component of the surface energy (γ^d_s) and the surfaceacid-base properties of the native rectorite , organic-modified rectorite with dodecyl benzyl dimethyl ammonium bromide (12-OREC) , organic-modified rectorite with hexadecyl t rimethyl ammonium bromide (16-OREC) and thermoplastic polyurethane ( TPU) with non-polar and polar probes. The correlation of the surface properties of REC andTPU with the st ructure of the composites was analyzed. The result s indicate that the modification of REC lowers it ssurface energy and changes the surface f rom being acidic to being predominantly basic and hence improving the dispersibility of 12-OREC and 16-OREC in TPU ; 12-OREC can achieve the best dispersibility in TPU , because thedispersive energy and acid-base property are most comparable with those of the polymer mat rix.