Aminoclay: A Designer Filler for the Synthesis of Highly Ductile Polymer-Nanocomposite Film

Water-dispersible aminoclay synthesized in a single step process was used as an inorganic filler for preparing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)−clay hybrid films. The PVA−clay hybrid films with different weight percentages of aminoclay were obtained by simple mixing and casting of aqueous solutions of clay and polymer. The composite films show excellent retention of ductile behavior of the polymer, PVA, even at higher loadings (20 wt %) of aminoclay. Introduction of aminoclay stabilized Ag nanoparticles significantly improved the mechanical properties of the composite film. The oxygen barrier property of the composite film was improved with the increase in composition of the clay.