Unusual Multilayered Structures in Poly(ethylene oxide)/Laponite Nanocomposite Films

Summary: The unusual structure of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and Laponite clay in transparent nanocomposite films was investigated using scanning electron, atomic force, and optical microscopy, and X‐ray scattering. Each method is sensitive to different aspects of structural features and together they measure the resulting morphology and shear‐induced orientation. On nanometer length scales, clay platelets were found to orient in bundles while polymer crystallinity was suppressed. Microscopy led to the observation of unexpected and highly oriented multilayers on the micron length scale.

Scanning electron microscopy image of the freeze‐fractured surface of a poly(ethylene oxide)–Laponite film: the view on top of the x–y plane.