This study focuses on the fabrication and characterization of vermiculite-filled flexible polymer composites. Exfoliated vermiculite was incorporated into triblock thermoplastic elastomer copolymer, styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS), at various levels from 1 to 15 wt% by a high shear mixer. The composite films were obtained by the combination of solvent casting and compression molding. The morphological, structural, thermal, and mechanical properties and contact angle of the composites were determined. Some micro-morphological differences were observed between the samples and the difference was assumed to be caused by high shear mixing and filler concentration. High shear mixing was found effective in terms of the detachment of vermiculite layers at all concentrations. However, at low filler loading, that behavior was more obvious. At 1 wt% filler concentration, mechanical properties increased that was probably caused by good filler-matrix interaction stemmed from smaller particle size. At higher vermiculite concentrations, fillers found to show agglomerations that led to a decrease in mechanical strength and strain at break. Elastic and secant modulus showed an increasing trend. Contact angle measurements were carried out to determine the oleophilic character of the samples. An increase in the vermiculite content resulted in higher oleophilic character and the lowest contact angle was obtained at 15 wt% VMT loading. In addition to these, thermal stability, thermal dimensional stability and flame retardancy were improved by the incorporation of VMT. 15 wt% vermiculite-filled sample showed the best performance in terms of thermal stability and flame retardancy.

本研究的重点是蛭石填充的柔性聚合物复合材料的制造和表征。剥离蛭石掺入三嵌段热塑性弹性体共聚物，苯乙烯-b- (乙烯-共-丁烯) -b-苯乙烯 (SEBS)，通过高剪切混合器以 1 至 15 重量％的不同水平混合。复合薄膜是通过溶剂浇铸和压缩成型的组合获得的。确定了复合材料的形态、结构、热和机械性能以及接触角。在样品之间观察到一些微观形态差异，并且假设差异是由高剪切混合和填料浓度引起的。发现高剪切混合对于所有浓度的蛭石层的分离都是有效的。然而，在低填料负载下，这种行为更加明显。在 1 wt% 的填料浓度下，机械性能增加，这可能是由于较小的粒径引起的良好的填料-基质相互作用。在较高的蛭石浓度下，发现填料出现团聚，导致机械强度和断裂应变降低。弹性模量和割线模量呈增加趋势。进行接触角测量以确定样品的亲油特性。蛭石含量的增加导致更高的亲油性，并且在 15 wt% VMT 负载下获得最低接触角。除此之外，VMT 的加入还提高了热稳定性、热尺寸稳定性和阻燃性。15 wt% 蛭石填充的样品在热稳定性和阻燃性方面表现出最佳性能。进行接触角测量以确定样品的亲油特性。蛭石含量的增加导致更高的亲油性，并且在 15 wt% VMT 负载下获得最低接触角。除此之外，VMT 的加入还提高了热稳定性、热尺寸稳定性和阻燃性。15 wt% 蛭石填充的样品在热稳定性和阻燃性方面表现出最佳性能。进行接触角测量以确定样品的亲油特性。蛭石含量的增加导致更高的亲油性，并且在 15 wt% VMT 负载下获得最低接触角。除此之外，VMT 的加入还提高了热稳定性、热尺寸稳定性和阻燃性。15 wt% 蛭石填充的样品在热稳定性和阻燃性方面表现出最佳性能。