Polymer-montmorillonite clay nanocomposites. Part 1: Complexation of montmorillonite clay with a vinyl monomer

An organo-clay complex was formed by the exchange reaction of a quaternary ammonium salt of a derivatized styrene monomer with Na⁺-montmorillonite clay. The binding of the derivatized styrene monomer with the montmorillonite clay was confirmed by FTIR and the diffused reflectance analysis. The increase of the d-spacing of the derivatized styrene-N⁺-montmorillonite clay complex to 1.47 nm, measured by X-ray diffraction, indicates that a monolayer of the monomer is adsorbed between adjacent montmorillonite layers. A molecular modeling of the monomer suggested a benzene ring tilted to the c-axis of the montmorillonite clay. The carbon content of the styrene-N⁺-montmorillonite clay of 11.02% suggested a complete surface coverage of the clay by the monomer and a surface coverage of 0.74 nm² per exchange site of the montmorillonite.