Method of producing an exfoliated polymer-clay nanocomposite through solid-state shear pulverization
AssigneeNorthwestern University
InventorsJohn Torkelson, Andrew Lebovitz, Kosmas Kasimatis, Klementina Khait
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of producing a polymer-clay nanocomposite comprises providing a supply of polymer-clay mixture, exfoliating the mixture through solid-state shear pulverization in the presence of cooling sufficient to maintain the extruded mixture in the solid state during the pulverization, and discharging the resulting exfoliated mixture. The invention is also directed to a method of producing a polymer hybrid nanocomposite, wherein a component is dispersed throughout a polymer matrix by solid-state shear pulverization of a polymer mixed with the second component.
Claims16
A method of producing a polymer-clay nanocomposite, comprising the steps of:
- providing a polymer-clay mixture comprising a polymer and clay;
- exfoliating the clay through solid-state shear pulverization in a twin-screw pulverizer and in the presence of cooling sufficient to maintain the mixture in the solid state during the pulverization;
- and
- discharging the mixture as a polymer-clay nanocomposite containing the exfoliated clay.
A method of producing a polymer-clay nanocomposite, comprising the steps of:
- melt extruding a polymer-clay mixture comprising a polymer and clay;
- exfoliating the clay through solid-state shear pulverization in a twin-screw pulverizer and in the presence of cooling sufficient to maintain the mixture in the solid state during the pulverization;
- and
- discharging the mixture as a polymer-clay nanocomposite containing the exfoliated clay.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.