The Morphology and Properties of Selected Filler/Poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) Copolymer Systems

Anotace

Fillers are the most frequently used additives for polymeric materials. Their addition into the polymer matrix leads to the modification of its processing or physical properties. Nowadays, active fillers sized in nanometres are often used. Originally, active fillers were mainly carbon blacks in rubber compounds. However, since the 1990s, a steep increase in the number of publications about nanoparticle based fillers has been seen, and clay minerals tend to be among those most studied. The reason is that, if their dispersion in a polymer matrix is good enough, even a small amount of these fillers can significantly change the desired properties of the resulting materials.