Advantages of Nanoclays

Thorough study of nanocomposites has revealed clearly that nanoclays can provide certain advantages in properties in comparison to their conventional filler counterparts. Properties which have been shown to undergo substantial improvements include  

The data provided by Toyota Research Group of Japan on polyamide-MMT nanocomposites indicate tensile strength improvements of approximately 40%-50% at 23°C and modulus improvement of about 70% at the same temperature. Heat distortion temperature has been shown to increase from 65°C for the unmodified polyamide to 152°C for the nanoclay-modified material, all the above having been achieved with just a 5% loading of MMT clay. Similar mechanical property improvements were presented for polymethyl methacrylate-clay hybrids [27]. 

Further data provided by Honeywell relating the polyamide-6 polymers confirm these trends in property [28]. In addition, further benefits of short/long glass fiber incorporation, together with nanoclay incorporation, are clearly revealed. 

One of the few disadvantages associated with nanoparticle incorporation concerns the loss of some properties. Some of the data presented have suggested that nanoclay modification of polymers such as polyamide could reduce impact performance [28]. Nanofillers are sometimes very matrix-specific. High cost of nanofillers prohibits their use. 

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