Improvement Of Processability Of Clay/Polylactide Nanocomposites By A Combinational Method: In Situ Polymerization Of L-Lactide And Melt Compounding Of Polylactide

A modified clay/polylactide nanocomposite was prepared. The clay was modified by grafting polylactide chains onto the surface of clay. The modified clay was melt-compounded with a high-molecular-weight polylactide matrix. This novel clay/polylactide nanocomposite showed high shear-thinning behavior when the molecular weight of the grafted poly(L-lactide) was rather high. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.