Synthesis and characterization of well-dispersed polyurethane/CaCO3 nanocomposites

Well-dispersed and long-term stable nano-CaCO3/polyol dispersions were prepared by a mechanochemical approach with the aid of poly (propylene glycol) phosphate ester (PPG-P). Polyurethane (PU)/CaCO3 nanocomposites were prepared by further in situ polymerization with 6 wt% nano-CaCO3. The microstructure and dispersion of nano-CaCO3 in the nanocomposites were investigated. It was found that well dispersion was obtained up to 6 wt% of the surface treated CaCO3 loading for PU/CaCO3 nanocomposite. The segmented structures of PU were not interfered by the presence of nano-CaCO3 in these nanocomposites as evidenced by Fourier transform infrared. Compared with the pure PU, a significant improvement in thermal stability was observed with the addition of 6 wt% of the surface treated CaCO3. The experimental results suggested that the properties of nanocomposites were correlated with the dispersion of nano-CaCO3 in PU and the interfacial interactions between nano-CaCO3 and polymer matrix. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.