Organoclay as a potential eco-friendly substitute of chalk in the manufacturing of the PVC based electric cable

Abstract The aim of this work was to study the effects of an organoclay on the properties of a polyvinyl chloride polymer and to compare the obtained results to polyvinyl chloride/chalk counterpart in order to replace the expansive, no eco-friendly and irritant chalk by the cheap and eco-friendly organoclay in the electric cable polyvinyl chloride manufacturing. The obtained nanocomposites were prepared by dry blending followed by extrusion. The obtained results showed a clear improvement of the blend mechanical properties. The x-ray diffraction analysis evidenced an intercalation of the polyvinyl chloride chains between organoclay platelets. The thermal stability (Beilstein test) of the nanocomposite was greatly improved. Differential screen analysis showed that the glass transition temperature of the nanocomposite is higher than the neat polyvinyl chloride. A rheological analysis revealed that the addition of organoclay had not damaged the processability of the nanocomposite. Screen electronic microscopy analysis revealed a uniform dispersion of the organoclay particles in the polyvinyl chloride matrix.