Biodegradable Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites

Abstract

This chapter is a comprehensive source for biodegradable polymer/clay nanocomposite research. This work focuses on several strategies to obtain well-dispersed nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties. Different strategies for the optimization of biodegradable polymer-clay nanocomposites were identified and treated herein. The two most important strategies are based on the chemical modification of the clay and on the processing conditions. The combination of these two factors greatly affects the resulting structure of the composite, being always the goal to obtain a good dispersion of the reinforcement within the polymeric matrix. Challenges in processing conditions have been analysed and the prospective for future research has been addressed.