Viscoelastic properties of clay-containing nanocomposites of thermotropic liquid-crystal polymer

The nanocomposites of liquid-crystal polymer (LCP) with two different weight per cents of clay were prepared via the melt extrusion method. To investigate the properties of the materials in the linear and non-linear viscoelastic regions, both oscillatory and rotational tests were carried out. The results showed that the nanocomposite with higher clay content exhibited an almost defectless partially cross-linked structure compared to the nanocomposite with lower clay content or the pure LCP. The linear stress relaxation measurements revealed that the pure LCP relaxed faster than nanocomposites after imposition of a constant strain for a specific time. During the step rate relaxation test, high shear rate modified the defects in the pure LCP very quickly and probably attained almost an equilibrium position while the nanocomposite samples showed strong shear thinning behaviour.