Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites Prepared by Power Ultrasonic Wave; Synthesis and Rheological Properties

The nanocomposites have been prepared through several methods. In-situ polymerization with clay belongs to a classical way to develop nano-structured materials, while melt intercalation is being recognized as another useful approach due to its versatility and environmentally benign character. In addition, this method is quite general and is broadly applicable to a number of commodity polymers including Polypropylene, Polystyrene, Nylon and PMMA. Although significant progress has been made by numerous efforts on the relevant area, application of the preceding methods is still limited by non-uniform nano-hybridization throughout the polymer matrix. Furthermore, only few classes of polymers have been successful in forming nanocomposites with a number of clays. Such shortcomings are mainly associated with insufficient mixing capability of conventional mixing devices. In particular, since viscosity of polymer melts is much higher than that of solution state, homogeneous dispersion of layered silicates in the matrix has not been an easy task. In the present study, as an attempt to overcome the limitations of existing methods, we carried out in-situ polymerization and melt intercalation using power ultrasonic wave. Power ultrasonic wave has been employed to enhance nano-scale dispersion during melt mixing of monomer, polymer and clay. According to the unique mode o