Synthesis of an intercalated compound of montmorillonite and 6-polyamide

Natural montmorillonite, fractionated from bentonite produced in Yamagata, Japan, was ion-exchanged for NH ₃ ⁺ –(CH₂)₁₁–COOH, NH ₃ ⁺ –(CH₂)₅–COOH, Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, Mg²⁺, Co²⁺, Li⁺, K⁺ and H⁺. The mixtures of the ion-exchanged montmorillonite and -caprolactam were heated at 263°C in glass ampoules for various periods. The intercalated compounds before and after the heating were examined by X-ray powder diffraction, DSC and GPC. Although -caprolactam was not polymerized without montmorillonite, it was polymerized at 263°C in the presence of montmorillonite. The polymerization rate varied with the interlayer cations in the order of NH ₃ ⁺ –(CH₂)₁₁–COOH>Al³⁺>NH ₃ ⁺ –(CH₂)₅–COOH>H⁺>Cu²⁺>Mg²⁺>Co²⁺>Li⁺>K⁺. After heating at 263°C for 5 h, the mean number-average molecular weight was about 1.5×10⁴. Although the interlayer distance of NH ₃ ⁺ –(CH₂)₁₁–COOH type montmorillonite/-caprolactam compound increased from 2.85 nm to 4.90 nm by heating at temperatures above the melting point of -caprolactam, those of other compounds were not changed. After heating at 263°C, an intercalated compound of montmorillonite and 6-polyamide, whose interlayer distance was more than 10 nm, was obtained. It is concluded that montmorillonite acts as a Brönsted acid and initiates the open ring polymerization of -caprolactam and that the driving force of swelling is the polymerization energy.Presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Inclusion Phenomena and the Third International Symposium on Cyclodextrins, Lancaster, U.K., 20–25 July 1986.