Kaolinite Review: Intercalation and Production of Polymer Nanocomposites
José Costa de Macêdo Neto, Nayra Reis do Nascimento, Roger Hoel Bello, Luiz Antônio de Verçosa, João Evangelista Neto, João Carlos Martins da Costa, Francisco Rolando Valenzuela Díaz
Abstract
The production of polymer nanocomposites with natural clays as reinforcement has been thoroughly researched by many researchers.The authors always have been seeking better properties compared to the neat polymer without reinforcement.That is the great appeal of these types of materials.The most commonly used natural clays as reinforcement in polymer nanocomposites are montmorillonite (MMT), halloysite, and kaolinite.Thus, the organic modification of these clays has also been studied to improve the clay interlayer space (intercalation), due to the creation of an affinity with the polymer matrix and reaching better properties than neat polymer.In this context, this review article first discusses an approach regarding the intercalation techniques of kaolinite clay using different intercalate molecules.Then, it discusses polymer nanocomposite processing such as polymers in solution, melts blending, and in situ polymerization using kaolinite as reinforcement.