Ethylene-Octene Copolymer/Nanocaly Nanocomposites: 1- A Review on Morphology, Crystalization and Thermal Properties

Polyethylenes are among of the commodity polymers with wide-spread applications. They are being used in transportation، wire and cable، food packaging، and building industries، for instance. Ethylene-octene copolymers contain more branches in respect to that of the high density polyethylene، therefore، their crystallinities and melting points are lower and can also be processed much easier. Nowadays، there are huge interests in using polymer-clay nanocomposites because of their higher desired physical and mechanical properties such as thermal stability، tensile strength and barrier resistance in comparison with that of the unfilled polymers or the polymers which are reinforced with the same amount of micro-sized fillers. Nanoclays are modified using organic modifiers such as alkylammonium ions in order to enhance their compatibility with polymers. They can also act as a nucleating agent and change the crystallinity of polymeric materials. This nano-sized filler could also affect the thermal stability and flame retardancy but the amount of influence depends on the morphology developed. In this article، our aim is to present some information about the above-mentioned nanocomposites by reviewing the recently published papers in this area.