title: Morphological and structural characterization of PHBV/organoclay nanocomposites by small angle X-ray scattering.
abstract: In this work, the morphological and structural behaviors of poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) nanocomposites were investigated using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nanocomposites with 1, 3 and 5 wt.% of organically modified montmorillonite Cloisite® 30B (OMMT) were prepared by melt processing in a twin screw extruder using two different processing conditions (low and high shear intensity). The lamellar long period of the polymer was lower for the nanocomposites, with high polydispersity values. However, the crystalline thickness increased with the clay content and was independent of the processing conditions. This behavior resulted in a high linear crystallinity of the nanocomposites with 3 and 5 wt.% OMMT. The disruption factor (β) was in agreement with the WAXD and TEM findings, indicating a good dispersion of the nanoparticles in the PHBV matrix with 3 wt.% of OMMT during the high shear intensity of melt processing.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, 91501-970, RS, Brazil; Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: lncarli@ucs.br.
authors.forename: Larissa N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Carli
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: obianchi@ucs.br.
authors.forename: Otávio
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: Centro de Tecnologias Estratégicas do Nordeste, Av. Prof. Luiz Freire, 01, Cidade Universitária, Recife, 50740-540, PE, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação de Materiais, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Prof. Moraes Rego, 1235, Recife, 50670-901, PE, Brazil. Electronic address: giovannamachado@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Centro de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia, Universidade de Caxias do Sul, Rua Francisco Getúlio Vargas, 1130, Caxias do Sul, 95070-560, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: jscrespo@ucs.br.
authors.forename: Janaina S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves, 9500, Porto Alegre, 91501-970, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: raquel.mauler@ufrgs.br.
authors.forename: Raquel S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Mauler
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077215:Clay; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D053838:Scattering, Small Angle; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction; D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D000077215:Clay; D011091:Polyesters; C052620:poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(3-hydroxyvalerate); D000094122:Polyhydroxybutyrates