Structure Characterization and Thermal Properties of PMMA／Montmorillonite Nanocomposites via Emulsion Polymerization

Montmorillonite(MMT) modified with sodium silicate can change the arrangement of its layers fromedge-face and edge-edge to face-face. With the fine dispersion of the modified MMT in water, the cation-ex-change reaction was carried out with cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) to obtain organo-montmoril-lonite (OMMT). As OMMT was uniformly dispersed in methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomer, PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites were formed via a common emulsion polymerization. The products were extractedwith hot acetone and characterized by FTIR, molecular weight, X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission elec-tron microscopy(TEM), DSC and TGA. These results show that most of the OMMT layers have been exfo-liated, while the thermal stability is increased obviously. By means of FTIR spectral analysis, the ratios ofthe macromolecular radicals‘ termination of disproportionation patterns to combination are increased with theaddition of OMMT. This result further confirms the increase of the thermal degradation temperatures andglass transition temperatures of the PMMA/OMMT nanocomposites.     

基于胶束插层方法制备高热稳定性和大层间距有机化蒙脱土

采用不同方法制备了多种有机化蒙脱土,并分别采用X射线衍射仪、红外光谱分析仪、热重分析仪、电感耦合等离子体发射光谱仪、元素分析仪、扫描电子显微镜对产物进行了表征,并提出了有机物插层新方式——胶束插层.结果表明:适量钠基蒙脱土(Na-MMT)、十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(CTAB)和磷酸三苯酯(TPP)在丙酮/水的混合溶剂中进行溶液插层,得到的有机化蒙脱土具有更大的层间距,比单纯采用CTAB的插层效果显著.产物中含有约21.54%的CTAB和17.47±1.05%的TPP,插层机理为CTAB-TPP胶束插层.该有机化蒙脱土的初始热降解温度比单纯CTAB插层蒙脱土最多提高了17.4℃.采用该方法制备的改性蒙脱土既可以进一步提高蒙脱土的层间距,又可以封闭TPP于MMT的片层间,阻止TPP挥发;同时克服季铵盐改性蒙脱土的热稳定性低的问题,得到了层间距大、热稳定性高的有机化蒙脱土,为有机化蒙脱土在高熔点聚合物改性方面提供了条件.     

Anodic construction of lamellar structured ZnO films using basic media via interfacial surfactant templating

Zinc oxide films with ordered lamellar structures were anodically deposited in basic media using an interfacial surfactant templating method. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and lauric acid served as efficient structure-directing agents and incorporated a lamellar structure with d(001) = 3.5 and 2.8 nm, respectively, into ZnO films. When 0.03 M cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) or tetramethylammonium bromide (TAB) was added as supporting electrolytes, the amount of SDS required to template the lamellar structures was decreased from 10 to 5 wt % and the basal spacing of the resulting lamellar structure was decreased to 3.1 nm. The effects created by the addition of CTAB and TAB are identical, indicating that the amphiphilic nature of CTAB does not play a major role in altering SDS assemblies. Investigation of the effect of various supporting cations and anions (e.g., NaCl, NaBr, NaI, Na2SO4) demonstrated that the effect seen with the addition CTAB and TAB is primarily due to the cationic groups reducing the repulsion of SDS head groups and enhancing interactions between anionic inorganic species (i.e., [Zn(OH)4]2-) and anionic SDS. Br- and I- ions also appear to have a slight effect on improving the ordering of interfacial SDS assemblies, while no apparent changes were observed when NaCl and Na2SO4 were added. These results indicate that it is not the increase in concentration of any salts but the specific type of cations and anions that can alter the interfacial SDS assemblies.     

不同有机离子表面活性剂改性蒙脱土结构与性能比较

分别用阳离子表面活性剂十六烷基三甲基溴化铵（CTAB）、阴离子表面活性剂十二烷基磺酸钠(SDS)以及二者混合物(CTAB-SDS)的水溶液处理天然蒙脱土。 用红外光谱和X射线衍射比较了它们对蒙脱土结构的影响。 证明CTAB及CTAB-SDS处理蒙脱土的层间距分别由1.5420 nm增大至2.1946和1.8935 nm。 表明CTAB插入蒙脱土层间,且CTAB及CTAB-SDS处理蒙脱土在苯乙烯中分散性能明显提高,对有机物表现出良好的吸附性;而阴离子表面活性剂未进入蒙脱土层间,蒙脱土的结构和性能几乎未变。     

Zeta-potentials of self-assembled surface micelles of ionic surfactants adsorbed at hydrophobic graphite surfaces

The zeta-potentials of the self-assembled surface ionic surfactants (sodium dodecyl sulfate—SDS and hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide—CTAB) on graphite surfaces were determined both from streaming potential and electrophoretic mobility measurements. The adsorption of the surfactants at graphite–liquid interfaces has been studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) soft-contact imaging which shows the formation of linear, parallel hemicylinders with headgroups oriented towards the solution. The magnitude of the zeta-potential increased with an increase in surfactant concentration, reaching a constant value at a concentration corresponding to the point of surface micelle formation as confirmed from AFM imaging. The streaming potential and electrophoretic mobility measurements showed that the zeta-potentials of SDS and CTAB surface micelles adsorbed at the graphite surface were about −75 and +70 mV, respectively, well in agreement with the values reported for bulk phase micelles in the literature.     

有机蒙脱土改性松香乳液增强废纸纤维的结构与性能

采用逆转法制备了有机蒙脱土(OMMT)改性松香乳液,利用X-射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、热分析(TGA)、差示扫描量热(DSC)和扫描电镜(SEM)等分别对有机改性蒙脱土(OMMT)及松香乳液的结构进行了表征,同时研究了OMMT改性松香乳液对废纸纤维施胶后的耐水性能和力学性能的影响。结果表明,OMMT在试验中对松香乳液的玻璃化温度(Tg)没有产生明显的影响,但显著地提高了施胶后的废纸纤维的耐水性和力学性能。     

A new hybrid nanocomposite prepared by graft copolymerization of butyl acrylate onto chitosan in the presence of organophilic montmorillonite

Organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) was synthesized by cationic exchange between Na-MMT and tricetadecylmethyl ammonium bromide in an aqueous solution. A new nanocomposite consisting of poly(butyl acrylate)-modified chitosan and OMMT was prepared by γ-ray irradiation polymerization in acetic acid aqueous solution. The degree of dispersion and the intercalation spacing of these nanocomposites were investigated using X-ray diffraction. The enhanced thermal stabilities of nanocomposites were characterized by the thermal gravimetric analysis. The improved mechanical properties of nanocomposites were characterized by static tensile studies and dynamic mechanical analysis. The nanocomposites showed improved resistance to water absorption.     

PU/MOMMT纳米复合材料的制备与研究

纳米复合材料由于其纳米尺寸效应，表面效应以及纳米粒子与基体界面间强的相互作用，具有优于相同组分常规复合材料的力学、热学等性能，引起了人们的广泛关注。用纳米材料改性聚合物，制备纳米复合材料是获得高性能高分子复合材料的重要方法。1998年以来，Pinnavaia等首先制备了聚氨酯，蒙脱土（PU／MMT）纳米复合材料，研究了有机蒙脱土在聚醚中的分散性。其后Chen等将聚羟基己内酯/蒙脱土（PCL／MMT）纳米复合材料加入到PCL和二苯基甲烷-4，4＇-二异氰酸酯（MDI）合成的预聚体与1，4-丁二醇扩链反应后的溶液中，制备了PU／MMT纳米复合材料。少量PCL／MMT的引入可使复合材料的综合性能大幅提高。     

Preparation of thermosetting polyurethane nanocomposites by montmorillonite modified with a novel intercalation agent

A novel thermosetting polyurethane (TSPU)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposite has been synthesized. N‐diamino octadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (DODTMAC) was used as an intercalation agent to treat Na⁺‐montmorillonite (MMT) and form a novel kind of OMMT. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) data indicated that the MMT was successfully intercalated by this intercalation agent, as evidenced by the fact that the basal spacing of MMT galleries was expanded from 1.5 to 3.2 nm. This OMMT was used to prepare the TSPU nanocomposites. Both the reinforcing and compatibilizing performance of the filler were investigated. Tensile tests showed that the tensile strength of TSPU/OMMT‐4 was the highest, and was about 3.62 times higher than that of the pure TSPU, and also the elongation at break showed an enhancement. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measurements illustrated that the glass transition temperature of the TSPU/OMMT‐4 nanocomposite was improved from 0.5 to 6.5 °C, which corresponded to the restriction of the soft segments of TSPU. The highest initial and center temperatures of TSPU/OMMT‐4 obtained from TGA were due to the highest retard effect of the TSPU molecular chains. WAXD studies showed that the formation of the nanocomposites in all the cases with the almost disappearance of the peaks corresponding to the basal spacing of MMT. SEM and TEM were used to investigate the morphologies of the TSPU/OMMT‐4 nanocomposite, and demonstrated that the nanocomposite was comprised of a well dispersion of a mixture of intercalated and exfoliated silicate layers throughout the matrix. It was proposed that the nano‐reinforcing effect caused by the well‐dispersed silicate layers might reduce the amount and size of voids and increase the length of the crack‐spreading path during tensile drawing. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 519–531, 2007.     

An assessment of the role of morphology in thermal/thermo-oxidative degradation mechanism of PP/EVA/clay nanocomposites

In this study, morphological properties of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) (75/25 wt/wt) blend-based nanocomposites containing various amounts of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) were primarily investigated. The incorporation of compatibilizer into nanocomposites decreased EVA droplet size in PP matrix while increasing compatibilizer/OMMT ratio showed a dual behavior with respect to the variations of OMMT interlayer spacing. By a rough estimation it was found that at EVA droplet size of D_n = 0.43 μm, the highest OMMT interlayer spacing would be acheived. Increasing D_n had a negative effect on the OMMT interlayer spacing. Activation energy of thermal/thermo-oxidative degradation based on Flynn model was obtained. Isothermal degradation test was also performed and desired temperature range for predicting degradation behavior was obtained by means of a free prediction model. An attempt was made to establish a correlation between morphological and thermal/thermo-oxidative parameters and also charred residue morphology. A mechanism for degradation process was proposed according to the changes of chemical bonds during the degradation process probed by FTIR analysis.     

Combined modification of asphalt with polyethylene packaging waste and organophilic montmorillonite

Organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) was prepared via ion exchange of Ca-montmorillonite (Ca-MMT) using dioctadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC). The OMMT and polyethylene packaging waste (WPE) were used as a combined modifier for asphalt, and the microstructure and performance of the modified asphalt were studied. Results show that the organophilic modification with DDAC results in an obvious increase of interlayer spacing of Ca-MMT, and the OMMT nano-lamellas can be completely exfoliated during the preparation of modified asphalt. The WPE, dispersed in asphalt, exhibits relatively small particles with homogeneous distribution, indicating that the OMMT addition is beneficial for the dispersion of WPE in asphalt. Compared with ordinary polymer modified asphalt, the penetration, softening point and ductility of the modified asphalt are all markedly improved. The modified asphalt obtained possesses excellent high-temperature stability, low-temperature anti-cracking performance and deformation resistance.     

Structural design of imidazolium and its application in PP/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Four kinds of imidazolium surfactants with high thermal stability were designed and synthesized accordingly. The structures of these surfactants were characterized by ¹H NMR spectra. The TGA results indicated that the thermal stabilities of these surfactants with saturated alkyl groups were relatively high and the initial decomposition temperatures at 5% weight loss (T_0.05) were higher than 250 °C. Imidazolium(O) modified montmorillonite (MMT) was prepared by cation exchange. TGA results showed that the OMMT showed obviously higher thermal stability than the surfactants themselves and the T_0.05 values of OMMT were higher than 330 °C. The dihexadecane imidazolium (DHI) with two long tails has the ability to enlarge the interlayer spacing to a bigger degree compared with other imidazolium surfactants with only one long tail. Polypropylene(PP)/OMMT nanocomposites were prepared by solution blending and the effects of these surfactants with different structures on the silicate layer dispersion in PP matrix were measured.     

Electrochemical behavior of PbO2/PbSO4 electrode in the presence of surfactants in electrolyte

The electrochemical behavior of PbO₂/PbSO₄ electrode is investigated in 4.5 M H₂SO₄ in presence of three surfactants, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS), Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP), using cyclic voltametry, electrochemical spectroscopy impedance and galvanostatic discharge as techniques. The micro morphology of the surface of the modified PbO₂ electrodes is examined by scanning electron microscopy. The results show that SDS and CTAB when added in the electrolyte could refine the coating particles and change the roughness of the surface of the electrode leading to a thin film of PbO₂ with amorphous character. In addition, SDS and CTAB shift the hydrogen evolution potential towards more negative values, improve the discharge capacity of the anodic layer and accelerate the charge transfer. Under cathodic polarization, CTAB presents the lowest value of the charge transfer resistance R_ct. In the contrary, STPP shifts the oxygen evolution potential towards more positive values, passivates the surface of the electrode and inhibits completely the reaction of PbO₂ formation.     

Surfactant-assisted synthesis,characterizations, and room temperature ammonia sensing mechanism of nanocrystalline CuO

CuO nanocrystalline powder has been synthesized by a sol?gel auto combustion route with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as cationic surfactant, and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) as anionic surfactant. The powder samples are characterized by TGA/DTA, XRD, FESEM, and TEM techniques. Thermal analysis of the dried gel samples shows that addition of surfactant in the precursor increases the heat of reaction, which is evolved in the decomposition of metal citrate complex. The CTAB and SDS addition in the reaction mixture lowers the average crystallite size to few tens of nanometer. Surfactant doping in precursor causes a variation in lattice strain and changes to its type to compressive. CuO nanoparticles are bound together into facets–like weakly aggregated clusters, as indicated by FESEM images. TEM micrographs indicate the porous, nearly spherical particles having crystallite size around 7 and 18 nm for CTAB and SDS surfactant assisted CuO samples respectively. CuO nanoparticles assembled as thick film have been tested for their response to 100 ppm ammonia gas at room temperature. Cationic surfactant assisted sample shows maximum response to ammonia as compared to anionic surfactant. The CTAB assisted sensor shows almost completes recovery in 500 s whereas SDS assisted sample shows 75% recovery in the same time. The ammonia response of the films obeys the Elovich equation. The response rate of sensor is found to be maximum for CTAB assisted CuO films as compared to other samples. The kinetics of the response reaction shows that the ionic surfactants assisted CuO follows second order reaction kinetics.     

Surfactant-assisted electrodeposition and improved electrochemical capacitance of silver-doped manganese oxide pseudocapacitor electrodes

Ag-doped MnO₂ pseudocapacitor electrodes with dendrite and foam-like structures were successfully produced for the first time using an electrodeposition method employing structure-directing agents, i.e., sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) acting through micelle formation at solid–liquid interfaces. Doping silver with MnO₂ enhanced their electronic conductance. Controlling pseudocapacitor electrode morphologies with surfactants accelerated ion transport. The specific capacitance values of the Ag-doped MnO₂ films produced with SDS and CTAB, measured in 0.5?M Na₂SO₄ at a scan rate of 5?mV?s^?1 were 551 and 557?F?g^?1, respectively. These values are about 2.7-fold higher than that of the pure MnO₂ film and about 1.4-fold higher than that of the Ag-doped MnO₂ film made without using surfactants.     

Hybrid Nanocomposite Prepared by Graft Copolymerization of 4-Acryloyl morpholine onto Chitosan in the Presence of Organophilic Montmorillonite

Organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) was synthesized by cationic exchange between Na-MMT and Vinyl benzyl triphenyl phosphonium chloride in an aqueous solution. A new nanocomposite consisting of 4-acryloyl morpholine-chitosan and OMMT was prepared by γ -ray irradiation polymerization. The intercalation spacing of these nanocomposites was investigated with X-ray diffraction and its thermal stabilities by adding nanocomposites were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis. The nanocomposites showed improved resistance to water absorption. The most interesting application of the nanocomposite is its ability for adsorption purification of waste water containing acid dyes. One of the objectives in this study was to develop new and active prepared copolymers which can be examined for their antimicrobial activities. It was found that the copolymer nanocomposite based on phosphonium group and some heavy metal ions in its structure having broad spectrum against pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aurius, Escherichia coli and Aspergillus flavus fungi.     

Micellar effects on the electrochemistry of dopamine and its selective detection in the presence of ascorbic acid

The electrochemistry of dopamine (3-hydroxytyramine) was studied by cyclic voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles at different pH. The anodic peak potential (E(pa)) and peak current (I(pa)) were found to be remarkably dependent on the charge and the concentration of the surfactant. The E(pa) and I(pa) change abruptly around the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of the surfactants and reach a plateau above the CMC. The E(pa) at the plateau shifts to more positive values in the cationic CTAB micellar solution, e.g. from 180 mV vs SCE in aqueous solution at pH 6.8 to 410 mV in CTAB micelle, whilst it shifts to less positive values in the anionic SDS micellar solution, e.g. 150 mV at pH 6.8. Therefore, the overlapped anodic peaks of dopamine and ascorbic acid in the mixture of the two compounds in aqueous solutions can be separated in CTAB micelles since the micelle shifts the E(pa) of ascorbic acid to less positive values. The two peaks are separated by ca. 400 mV at pH 6.8 in CTAB micelle, hence dopamine can be determined in the presence of 100 times excess of ascorbic acid. In SDS micelle and in the presence of ascorbic acid, the I(pa) of dopamine is greatly enhanced due to the catalytic oxidation of the latter that enables quantitative determination of both compounds.     

Synthesis of montmorillonite-based tris(2-ethylamine)-Schiff-base composites with remarkable antibacterial activity

A range of heterogeneous, inexpensive and benign Schiff bases-montmorillonite composites were synthesized and screened for their antibacterial activity against common microbial pathogens. Sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) clay was modified with tris(2-ethylamine) in the presence of dilute HCl to yield a quaternary salt of tris(2-ethylamine) modified clay. The Schiff bases were then fabricated from the reaction of the modified montmorillonite using different aldehydes. The structures of the obtained compounds were confirmed by Fourier transformer Infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). All the obtained composite materials were screened for their antibacterial activities against the multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains. It was reasoned that the modified MMT-based composites has the ability to absorb the different micro-organisms onto the surface, and accordingly act as an effective antibacterial agent. All the composites showed significant antibacterial activity between 2.5 and 20 mg/mL against the MDR bacterial strains. The benzyl-based/modified MMT and the tertiary amino-based/modified MMT was found to be the most effective antibacterial agent.     

Poly(PEGMA) magnetic nanogels: preparation via photochemical method,characterization and application as drug carrier

One-pot synthesis of magnetic nanogels with excellent biocompatibility via the photochemical method is reported in this paper. Poly(PEGMA) modified superparamagnetic nanogels (poly(PEGMA) magnetic nanogels) were synthesized by in-situ polymerization using poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) as the monomer and N, N′-methylene-bis-(acrylamide) (MBA) as the cross-linking agent in magnetite aqueous suspension under UV irradiation. The surface functional groups and components of magnetic nanogels were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The results indicated that the poly(PEGMA) magnetic nanogels were synthesized successfully by coating poly(PEGMA) on the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles under UV irradiation, and the Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles content in this nanogels was above 50 wt%. The morphology, size, zeta-potential and magnetic property were also characterized. The magnetic nanogels had a nearly spherical shape and core-shell structure, the average size in aqueous system measured by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS) was 68.4 nm, which was much bigger than that in the dry state, the nanogels behaved superparamagnetically with saturated magnetization of 58.6 emu/g, and the zeta-potential was −16.3–−17.3 mV at physiological pH (6.8–7.4) which could help to maintain stability in blood. The preliminary application as drug carrier was made and the doxorubicin-loaded magnetic nanogels had an excellent property in slow-release. The experiment indicated that the magnetic nanogel was an ideal candidate carrier in target drug delivery systems and other biomedical application. Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. Q2006F01), Scientific and Technological Project of Shandong Province (Grant No. 2007GG3WZ02066) and Scientific and Technological Project of Department of Education, Shandong (Grant No. J07WC01)     

Adsorption of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) and related compounds onto montmorillonite clay

Sodium montmorillonite clay (Na-MMT) was modified using 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS). The objective of this study was to determine which chemical group is the 'driving force' leading to the adsorption of AMPS inside the clay galleries. AMPS has been reported to be a good candidate as a clay modifier for the preparation of polymer-clay nanocomposites by in situ free radical polymerization in emulsion. However, the way in which AMPS interacts with the surface of MMT has not yet been studied. The type of interaction between organic modifiers and clay plays a determining role in the successful preparation of polymer-clay nanocomposite materials. The adsorption ability of three other organic compounds similar to AMPS, namely sodium 1-allyloxy-2-hydroxypropyl sulfonate (Cops), N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) and methacryloyloxyundecan-1-yl sulfate (MET), was also evaluated. These selected compounds also have functional groups potentially able to interact with the clay surface (i.e., a sulfonate group, an amido group, or a sulfate group, respectively). Results of FT-IR, TGA and SAXS analyses showed that AMPS, NIPA, Cops and MET all interacted with clay, but to various extents.