| Abstract: | Ethylene vinyl acetate rubber (45% vinyl acetate content, EVA‐45) and organomodified clay (12Me‐MMT) composites were prepared by solution blending of the rubber and the clay. A combination of X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy studies showed that the composites obtained are on the nanometer scale. The measurements of the dynamic mechanical properties for different compositions over a temperature range (?100 to +100°C) showed that the storage moduli of these rubber–clay nanocomposites are higher above the glass to rubber transition temperature compared to the neat rubber. The tensile strength of the nanocomposites is about 1.6 times higher than that of the EVA‐45. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2216–2220, 2003 |
