Preparation and characterization of polyimide/kaolinite nanocomposite films based on functionalized kaolinite

The polyimide/kaolinite nanocomposite films based on the functionalized kaolinite were prepared and studied systematically. The natural kaolinite was modified by the indirect coupling to obtain the reactive kaolinite, which could be dispersed uniformly in the polymer matrix. It was found that the reactive kaolinite had effect on the crystal structure and increased the molecular weight of the polyimide. The significant improvement in the water resistance, thermal stability and mechanical property of polyimide/kaolinite nanocomposite was achieved with the addition of the reactive kaolinite. The tensile strength of polyimide/kaolinite nanocomposite increased by 40.6% compared to pure polyimide, Young's modulus of polyimide/kaolinite nanocomposite was increased to 1.95 GPa from 1.56 GPa. Finally, the mechanism to prepare the polyimide/kaolinite nanocomposite was proposed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E380–E386, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers