Grafting of hydrocarbon moieties on smectites by cold acetylene plasma and characterization of plasma-treated clay mineral polyethylene nanocomposites

The hydrophilic surface of montmorillonite and Laponite was changed to hydrophobic by treating the smectites with cold acetylene plasma, thus improving their compatibilization with polyethylene. The effects of plasma-polymerization on the clay minerals were studied by XRD, Raman and FTIR spectroscopies. The plasma treatment forms a coating on their external surfaces and also alters their structures, with a lesser effect on Laponite. The addition of these modified fillers to molten polyethylene leads to a decrease in the peak heat release rate.