Thisstudyinvestigatedtheinfluenceofvariousorganicallymodifiedmontmorillonites(organoclays)onthestructureandpropertiesofrigidpolyurethanefoam(RPUF)nanocomposites.Theorganoclaysweremodifiedwithcetyltrimethylammoniumbromide(CTAB),methyltallowbis(2-hydroxyethyl)quaternaryammoniumchloride(MT2ETOH)andtris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane(THMA)anddenotedasCMMT,Cloisite30BandOMMT,respectively.MT2ETOHandTHMAcontainhydroxylgroups,whileTHMAdoesnothavelongaliphatictailinitsmolecule.X-raydiffractionandtransmissionelectronmicroscopyshowthatOMMTandCloisite30BcanbepartiallyexfoliatedintheRPUFnanocompositesbecausetheirintercalatingagentsMT2ETOHandTHMAcanreactwithisocyanate.However,CMMTmodifiedwithnonreactiveCTABismainlyintercalatedintheRPUFmatrices.Atarelativelylowfillercontent,theRPUF/CMMTcompositefoamhasahigherspecificcompressivestrength(theratioofcompressivestrengthagainsttheapparentdensityofthefoams),whileatrelativelyhighfillercontents,RPUF/Cloisite30BandRPUF/OMMTcompositeshavehigherspecificcompressivestrengths,highermodulusandmoreuniformporesizethantheRPUF/CMMTcomposite.
