Synthesis of Poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate)/Clay Nanocomposite via In Situ AGET ATRP

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate)/clay nanocomposites were synthesized via in situ atom transfer radical polymerization using activators generated by electron transfer in the presence of a montmorillonite ion-exchanged with mixed surfactants of dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and vinyl trimethyl ammonium chloride. The living nature of polymerization is confrmed by occurrence of narrow molecular weight distribution of the nanocomposites in which copolymers with polydispersity index of about 1.13-1.15 were obtained. Partial exfoliation of clay layers in the copolymer matrix was demonstrated by XRD patterns and further studies of TEM images. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results demonstrated a slight increase in
the thermal stability of nanocomposites in comparison with the neat copolymer. DSC results indicated a decrease in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of nanocomposites by the addition of clay content which are attributed to low molecular weights of the copolymers and weaker interactions between polymer chains. The chemical structure and composition of copolymers was identifed by 1H NMR analysis.

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