Preparation of chitosan/montmorillonite nanocomposites and characterization

The main aim of this project is to produce biodegradable polymer containing clay nanocomposites. The objective of this study is to prepare chitosan/clay nanocomposites, and then to investigate mechanical, barrier and thermal properties of the nanocomposites. Chitosan nanocomposites materials are produced by mixing various percentage of nanoclays (Montmorillonite-K10; 0.5, %1, %2.5, %5) as filler. The material is studied by the conventional techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and the other classical techniques cited in the literature. The nanocomposites are characterized using barrier (oxygen and water permeability), mechanical properties, thermal behaviors and microscopic (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and compared each others.