Antioxidant intercalated layered double hydroxides: a new multifunctional nanofiller for polymers

An antioxidant intercalated layered double hydroxide (A.O-LDH) nanohybrid system constructed using host–guest chemistry and employed as multifunctional nanofiller to fabricate highly durable polymer composites, namely polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites. The intercalated antioxidants efficiently prolonged the degradation in PP, their high hydrophobic nature facilitated the filler dispersion and simultaneously the mineral nano sheets observed to be reinforcing the polymer matrix. The A.O-LDH/PP nanocomposites were prepared using melt intercalation technique. Both X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements revealed a fine dispersion of A.O-LDH nanolayers into the polymer matrices. The rheological and dynamic mechanical analysis reveals the superior toughness for such hybrid materials. Moreover, the resulting composites exhibit enhanced thermal stability and photo-oxidative durability. The crystallization behavior in PP is also found to be positively altered by the presence of A.O-LDH.