Dispersion of organically modified clays within n-alcohols

A method for formation of polymer–clay nanocomposites involves dispersion of the nanometer silicate layers of clays into a solvent, followed by dispersion into polymers. The dispersion of layered silicates within solvents affects the structure and properties of the nanocomposites. We report the dispersion of organically modified clays, used for formation of nanocomposites with organic polymers, within a range of alcohol solvents. Experiments involved stirring a mixture containing approximately 1 wt% of alkylammonium-modified clays in n-alcohols with general molecular structure RnOH, where n represents the number of carbons of alkyl chains, varying from 2 to 8. The clays precipitated from the dispersion when RnOH solvents with n