(14p) Developing High Barrier Polyesters

Polymer composites, Nonwoven materials, Bio-nanocomposites, Biomaterials, Nanostructured Materials, fibers, Polymer Blends, Polymer Processing, Rheology, Packaging, Tissue Engineering, Drug Delivery, Polymer Additives, Colloid

Teaching Interests: Polymer Science and Engineering Courses, Transport Phenomena

High barrier polyesters were developed via combination of active and passive barrier approaches. The contribution of each approach was studied after modifying nanoparticles with unsaturated fatty acids as oxygen scavengers. Polyester nanocomposites were prepared with modified nanoparticles by using a twin screw extruder and in-situ polymerization. XRD indicated that there was a significant improvement on the dispersion of nanoparticles modified with long-chain fatty acids into the polyester matrix, and an exfoliated structure was achieved. DSC data also revealed that crystallization behaviors of nanocomposites prepared with fatty acid modified nanoparticles are similar to that of extruded polyester. Significant improvements in the mechanical and barrier properties of stretched polyester nanocomposites were achieved.