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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 April 2013
Ternary nanocomposites of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) were produced by melt blending with two types of elastomers and five types of organoclays to obtain improved mechanical properties such as tensile strength, modulus and impact strength. One of the elastomers is a random copolymer of ethylene and glycidyl methacrylate (E-GMA) and the other one is a random terpolymer of ethylene-butyl acrylate-maleic anhydride (E-BA-MAH). Organically modified montmorillonites (OMMT) were utilized as nanofillers. XRD, DSC, tensile and impact tests were done on the injection molded samples. FTIR, SEM and TEM analyses are still in progress. As preliminary results, thermal analysis showed that the addition of compatibilizers and organoclays does not have a distinct effect on the thermal properties of the composites, and no evidence of nucleation activity of compatibilizers or organoclays was found. For all types of organoclays, the nanocomposites produced with E-GMA exhibited better mechanical properties in comparison to nanocomposites containing E-BA-MAH, especially for the impact strength.