PBAT/hybrid nanofillers composites - Part 1: Oxygen and water vapor permeabilities, UV barrier and mechanical properties

Abstract

This work evaluated the effect of the combination of nanofillers: organically modified montmorillonite (MMT), sepiolite (SEP) and nano titanium dioxide (TiO2) on the oxygen and water vapor permeability coefficients, light transmission and mechanical properties of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) aiming at packaging application. The clays concentrations were chosen considering percolation threshold from the clays aspect ratio by TEM analyses. Comparing to neat PBAT, oxygen and vapor permeability coefficients showed reduction with the increase of MMT while SEP and nano-TiO2 did not show significant influence. However, nano-TiO2 was the only filler able to reduce UV and visible light transmission. Nanofillers and their combinations showed to be statistically significant for the increase in Young's modulus, although the tensile strength and elongation showed no influence. The results were discussed in terms of the fillers' morphology and dispersion. Nielsen's model was applied to estimate the aspect ratio of the MMT in nanocomposites.