Kinetic and Nanomechanical Study of Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate)-Epoxidized Natural Rubber-Organomodified Montmorillonite Nanohybrids

Multicomponent systems, consisting two immiscible polymers, Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and 50 mol% epoxidized natural rubber (ENR-50) and a filler i.e. organomodified montmorillonite (MMT) have been prepared by solvent casting technique. A 50/50 composition of PHB, a biodegradable polymer, and ENR-50 was first dissolved in chloroform and this was followed by the addition of 1, 3 or 5 wt% MMT to form the nanohybrid samples. The kinetic and nanomechanical properties of the as prepared samples were studied. Kissinger plots showed that the nanohybrids exhibited a decrease in degradation activation energy (E-d) as MMT content was increased. The nanomechnical study of these samples indicates an increase in hardness (H) and elastic modulus (E) when MMT content is increased in the samples.