Mechanical and Physical properties of Chitosan/ Poly (vinyl alcohol) nanocomposite films reinforced with Montmorillonite

To evaluate the effect of Montmorillonite (MMT) as a nanofiller on the properties of nanocomposites, nanocomposites prepared by a solution casting method with MMT introduced with loading content of (1,3 and 5 wt%) into poly (Vinyl alcohol) (PVA) / chitosan (CS) blended matrix. The results indicated that the mechanical properties of nanocomposites were improved with an increase in MMT loading content. Results showed that X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed well exfoliated nanocomposite films at all level of nanoclay and SEM micrographs verified fine dispersion of MMT in polymer matrix addition, TGA results showed a slight improvement in thermal stability at nanocomposite films compared to PVA/CS blended films.