Structure and properties of poly(vinyl chloride)/montmorillonite composites produced from plastisols

Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)/montmorillonite nanocomposites were prepared from plastisols. The concentrations of plasticizer and montmorillonite were varied. The composites were characterized by both X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, which indicated that intercalated nanocomposites were prepared, but that the distribution of clay was not uniform on the nanoscale. Plasticizer migration was found to decrease with increasing concentration of clay and could be reduced by 25% when 3 wt% of Cloisite 30B was added in formulations containing 100 phr (parts by weight per hundred parts of resin) of plasticizer. Montmorillonite was found to reduce the tensile properties of PVC, especially when the plasticizer concentration was low, i.e., 50 phr. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 22:140–145, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers