本論文將聚（丁二醇己二酸-共-對苯二甲酸乙二醇酯）(PBAT)以熔融法混摻改質和未改質的蒙脫土（MMT）、改質和未改質含氟鋰蒙脫土(fluorohectorite)或海泡石而成比例為5%與10%之奈米複合材料。本文著重於探討不同改質方法之奈米粒子在聚合物奈米複合材料結構以及不同粘土類型和負載的影響的效果進行了研究，並評估其在工業和醫療之應用。
所得之奈米複合材料以XRD，SEM和TEM觀察粘土分散之程度與情形。其熱性質則以差示掃描量熱（DSC），熱重分析（TGA）和動態熱機械分析儀（DMTA）測定之。另以接觸角測量試樣之親疏水性，以表面硬度和擠壓力學試驗測試材料的機械性能。並進行體外生物相容性試驗（蛋白吸附，血液相容性和細胞增殖試驗）測試材料之生物相互作用以應用於醫療上。
實驗結果顯示黏土與PBAT基質的插層度與PBAT隨化學親和性而增高。奈米複合材料的力學性能隨粘土含量而增加，但對其生物相容性無顯著影響。有機改質劑與PBAT基質的化學親和力會影響PBAT的熱機械性能。結果發現，PBAT/海泡石複合材料具有最佳熱機械和物理性能。與其他層狀矽酸鹽奈米複合材料相比，在廣溫度範圍中海泡石對熱機械性能的改進最佳，使得海泡石奈米顆粒極適用於醫療和工業應用環境（如包裝），甚至無需使用任何有機改質劑或用相容劑，即可高度分散於PBAT中。
總而言之，這些奈米顆粒在工業和醫療應用上，與PBAT的奈米複合材料最有應用性，係由於其可增進原始PBAT之物理和機械性能，且具有生物相容性及對環境極安全。

Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending 5% and 10% of modified and unmodified montmorillonites (MMT), modified and unmodified fluorohectorites, and sepiolite. Since only few researchers reported about the possibility to use PBAT nanocomposites, the effect of a different organic modifier structure in nanoparticles on polymer nanocomposites as well as the effect of different clay type and loading were studied in this work in order to evaluate their possible application for both industrial and medical applications.
Some morphological analyses (XRD, SEM, and TEM) were performed to observe the clays dispersion and distribution level. Thermal studies were employed for nanocomposite characterization including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). For investigating the specimen wettability, contact angle measurements were carried out. Surface hardness and compression-mechanical tests were conducted to inquire the mechanical properties of the final materials. In vitro biocompatibility tests (protein adsorption, hemocompatibility and cell proliferation tests) were performed to study the biological interactions of the final specimens for medical applications.
All nanocomposites showed a good level of clay intercalation into PBAT, especially those systems with a higher clay chemical affinity with the polymer matrix. Increases in the amount of clays in the polymer matrix brought increases in the mechanical properties of nanocomposites without significant changes in their biocompatibility level. The presence of different organic modifier in layered silicate nanocomposites gave different effect on the thermal-mechanical properties of PBAT, depending on their chemical affinity with the polymer matrix.
It was found that sepiolite based nanocomposites showed best thermo-mechanical and physical properties among all the nanocomposites studied here. They showed higher thermo-mechanical improvements, in a wide range of temperature, as compared to the studied layered silicates nanocomposites, make these sepiolite nanoparticles the materials with the highest potential to be used for medical and/or for numerous environmental industrial applications (such as packaging), even without the need to use any kind of organic modifierand/or compatibiliser to obtain its very good dispersion within PBAT.
In general, all these new materials studied here, especially those based on 10% clay could be very interesting for industrial and medical applications due to their considerable improved physical and mechanical properties as compare to the pristine polymer, and to their environmental safety and biocompatible properties.

Chapter 2

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