Organoclay nanocomposites

Keywords Bionanocomposites Bioplastics Biopolymers Clays DNA Nanocomposites Organoclays Palygorskite Phospholipids Polymers Polysaccharides Proteins Sepiolite... 

Elasticity Modulus Eractal Space Morphology Nanocomposite Organoclay... 

Flame-resistance Fractal time Levy s flights Nanocomposite Organoclay Strange diffusion... 

Figure 20.2 XRD patterns of (a) intercalated nanocomposite and (b) exfoUated nanocomposite (organoclay Cloisite lOA [Southern Clay Products, Inc., Gonzales, TX], matrix polymer a poly[styrene-co-vinyloxazolin]).

Many different polymers have already been used to synthesize polymer-clay nanocomposites. In this section, an overview of the advances that have been made during the last 10 years in the intercalation and the delamination of organoclay in different polymeric media is given. The discussion mainly covers the work involving thermoset nanocomposites along with a brief discussion about thermoplastic-based nanocomposites. 

Literature search shows that epoxy-based nanocomposites have been prepared by many researchers [34-38]. Becker et al. have prepared nanocomposites based on various high-functionahty epoxies. The mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties were also investigated thoroughly [39 3]. The cure characteristics, effects of various compatibilizers, thermodynamic properties, and preparation methods [16,17,44 9] have also been reported. ENR contains a reactive epoxy group. ENR-organoclay nanocomposites were investigated by Teh et al. [50-52]. 

Recently a lot of attention is being given to the field of latex-based nanocomposites. Various organoclays as well as pristine clays have been intercalated in aqueous medium with NR latex, SBR latex, NBR latex, as well as carboxylated nitrile mbber (XNBR) latex [184—187], to achieve a good degree of dispersion. 

FIGURE 28.16 Storage modulus vs temperature of organoclay-loaded rubber nanocomposite. (From Teh, P.L. et al., J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 100, 1083, 2006.)... 

Rubber-clay nanocomposites are particularly attractive for potential applications where enhanced barrier properties are desired. Organoclays for rubber intercalation were prepared... 

Polyimide-clay nanocomposites constitute another example of the synthesis of nanocomposite from polymer solution [70-76]. Polyimide-clay nanocomposite films were produced via polymerization of 4,4 -diaminodiphenyl ether and pyromellitic dianhydride in dimethylacetamide (DMAC) solvent, followed by mixing of the poly(amic acid) solution with organoclay dispersed in DMAC. Synthetic mica and MMT produced primarily exfoliated nanocomposites, while saponite and hectorite led to only monolayer intercalation in the clay galleries [71]. Dramatic improvements in barrier properties, thermal stability, and modulus were observed for these nanocomposites. Polyimide-clay nanocomposites containing only a small fraction of clay exhibited a several-fold reduction in the... 

Poly(styrene-fc-butadiene) copolymer-clay nanocomposites were prepared from dioctadecyldimethyl ammonium-exchanged MMT via direct melt intercalation [91]. While the identical mixing of copolymer with pristine montmorillonite showed no intercalation, the organoclay expanded from 41 to 46 A, indicating a monolayer intercalation. The nanocomposites showed an increase in storage modulus with increasing loading. In addition, the Tg for the polystyrene block domain increased with clay content, whereas the polybutadiene block Tg remained nearly constant. 

The enzymatic activities of intercalated GOx-AM P layered nanocomposites at various pH values and temperatures were compared with the native enzyme in aqueous solution. In both cases, characteristic linear plots consistent with Michalis-Menton kinetics were obtained. The Lineweaver-Burk plots indicated that the reaction rates (Vmax) for free and intercalated GOx (3.3 and 4.0 pM min 1 respectively), were comparable, suggesting that the turnover rate at substrate saturation was only marginally influenced by entrapment between the re-assembled organoclay sheets. However, the dissociation constant (Km) associated with the activity of the enzyme was higher for intercalated GOx (6.63 mM) compared to native GOx (2.94 mM), suggesting... 

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