Improved dispersion of clay platelets in poly(butylene terephthalate) nanocomposite by ring-opening polymerization of cyclic oligomers: Effect of the processing conditions and comparison with nanocomposites obtained by melt intercalation

Poly(butylene terephthalate) nanocomposites with organically modified montmorillonites have been prepared by in‐situ ring opening polymerization of PBT cyclic oligomers. High molecular weight polymers can be obtained by choosing the proper polymerization conditions and catalyst in very short polymerization time (10 min) and low temperature (205°C). A better dispersion of the clay and a consistently higher Mw have been obtained by this method respect to the standard melt intercalation approach, leading to improved thermo‐mechanical properties of the nanocomposite. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009