Treatment of sepiolite for improving polyuretane nanocomposite electrospun fibers

In this study, a compatible and ideal filler concept has been developed for electrospun nanocomposite fiber structures. The compatibility between sepiolite and polimer matrix during organo sepiolite production is improved using chemical treatment with common organic solvents such as acetone, toluene and ethylene glycol. Chemical treatment is compared with both raw and Dodesildimethyl ethylbenzene ammonium chloride (DEBAC) modified sepiolite in order to produce organoclays in different polarity solvents. The structure and thermal stability of raw and modified sepiolite was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and TG/DTA. It was observed that the selection of clay modification method is dependent on the origin of the sepiolite as well as the characteristics of nanocomposite solvents. The final sepiolite product was added to produce polyurethane nanocomposite fibers using electrospinning technique and also identified with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM).