Spectroscopic Studies of Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Sodium

Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites belong to a new class of hybrid materials consisting of organic-synthetic polymer matrix and inorganic filler--layered structure clay minerals. The paper presents the results of FTIR, NMR, and SAXS studies of poly(ε-caprolactone)/sodium montmorillonite nanocomposites. We observed a correlation between the concentration of poly(ε-caprolactone) in nanocomposite samples and structural changes both of the clay mineral and the intercalated polymer. Stiffening of the clay structure appears as a result of poly(ε-caprolactone) intercalation into a clay structure. 27Al NMR studies indicated in nanocomposites two non--equivalent sites of aluminium ions, i.e. in octahedral and tetrahedral coor-dination, whereas in the montmorillonite clay structure the aluminium ions are located in the interlayer space too. We found also that the temperatures of structural changes and softening process of poly(ε-caprolactone) chains in the nanocomposites depend on the concentration of poly(ε-caprolactone)