An equipment setup for manufacturing nanolaminates with potential applications as protective coatings and in transparent armor was designed and constructed to improve upon an existing system in place at UMass Lowell. The design modification was targeted at maximizing the area of the produced nanolaminates. The new design was successful in that the nanolaminates were approximatively 4.5 times larger in area than the ones produced on the previous design. Nanolaminates consisting of poly(1,4- cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate-co-2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutylene terephalate) (Tritan TX1000 and TX2000, Eastman Chemical) and dimethylditallowammonium montmorillonite clay nanofiller (Cloisite 20A, Southern Clay Products) were produced using the new setup. Nanolaminates with clay loadings of 0%, 10%, 30%, and 50% by volume were produced as freestanding films in the case of both grades of copolyester, while adherent films were produced at clay loadings of 70% and 90% by volume were in the case of Tritan TX2000. Finally, chemical and mechanical characterization of all freestanding films was attempted in order to develop preliminary structure-properties relations for these novel materials.
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