Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-018-3424-7 RESEARCH ARTICLE - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Study of Morphological and Mechanical Properties of PBT/PTT Blends and Their Nanocomposites and Their Correlation Ranjana Sharma 1 · Purnima Jain 2 · Susmita Dey Sadhu 3 Received: 6 September 2017 / Accepted: 1 July 2018 © King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals 2018 Abstract Impact modified PBT/PTT blends based nanocomposites having organoclay content varying from 2, 3 and 5 wt% were prepared using corotating twin-screw extruder. Organoclay (Cloisite 30B) was used as nanofiller. Ultra-low-density polyethylene- grafted glycidyl methacrylate (ULDPE-g-GMA) was used as an impact modifier to toughen the polymeric matrices. In all the prepared nanocomposites, the amount of impact modifier (ULDPE-g-GMA) remains constant, i.e., 2 wt%. Izod impact testing showed that only 2 wt% impact modifier (ULDPE-g-GMA) was enough to improve the notched Izod impact strength of the neat PBT and neat PTT by 85.6 and 98.6 %, respectively. It shows an excellent toughening of PBT and PTT with ULDPE- g-GMA rubber. It was further found that the incorporation of only 3 wt% organoclay significantly improved the tensile strength, tensile modulus values of PBT/PTT blends. The result of FEG-SEM indicated that nanocomposite with 3 wt% organoclay in PBT/PTT/2wt% ULDPE-g-GMA did not show phase separation. It showed that 3 wt% organoclay was homogeneously dispersed in impact modified PBT/PTT blends based nanocomposites. POM studies revealed that the well-defined spherulites are present in neat PBT and neat PTT when T c was 205 ◦ C. Keywords PBT · PTT · Nanocomposites · Blends · Morphology · Mechanical 1 Introduction The field of nanocomposite and polymer nanocomposite research is one of the most rapidly growing areas of cogni- tive work and applied engineering. Polymer nanocomposites represent a viable alternative to conventional composite material. [1–3]. Today, plastic materials are mostly used in various fields because they have desirable mechanical properties at an economical cost with added the advan- tage of lightweight [2,3]. For this reason, the mechanical and morphological properties may be considered as the most important of all the physical and chemical proper- ties of polymers for several applications like dielectrics for B Ranjana Sharma sharma.ranjana86@gmail.com 1 Department of Applied Sciences, Birla Institute of Technology, Offshore Campus, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE 2 School of Applied Sciences, Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, University of Delhi, Dwarka, New Delhi 110075, India 3 Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences, University of Delhi, Sec-02, Dwarka, New Delhi 110075, India insulations and capacitors [4,5], membrane for gas sepa- rations [6,7], polyurethane-hybrid nanographite nanocom- posite for microwave-absorbent applications [8]. Fiber- reinforced polymer (FRP) composites were found to be an innovative and attractive material for aerospace application because of its superior properties like high strength weight and modulus weight ratios and it reduces aircraft weight by more than 30%, thereby increasing fuel efficiency signifi- cantly [8]. Some polymers like PBT-GF30 and PMMA are used in making modern LED lamp housings and lenses [9]. Lamps are made of PBT-GF30 material, and PMMA poly- mer is used in the design of automotive lamps because of its high optical quality, resistance to UV light and weather- ing, decent stiffness, strength and dimensional stability [9]. Epoxy resins are regularly used in high-performance appli- cations, e.g., coatings and adhesives [10]. Adhesives are also used for joining aircraft components [8,10]. The selection of a material for a variety of applications is quite often based on mechanical properties such as tensile strength, modulus, elongation, and impact strength [11,12]. The mechanical properties of polymer/clay nanocompos- ites exhibit superior improvement in tensile strength, tensile modulus, flexural strength and modulus, and no loss in impact 123