Polysulfone/clay nanocomposites by in situ photoinduced crosslinking polymerization

PSU/MMT nanocomposites are prepared by dispersing MMT nanolayers in a PSU matrix via in situ photoinduced crosslinking polymerization. Intercalated methacrylate-functionalized MMT and polysulfone dimethacrylate macromonomer are synthesized independently by esterification. In situ photoinduced crosslinking of the intercalated monomer and the PSU macromonomer in the silicate layers leads to nanocomposites that are formed by individually dispersing inorganic silica nanolayers in the polymer matrix. The morphology of the nanocomposites is investigated by XRD and TEM, which suggests the random dispersion of silicate layers in the PSU matrix. TGA results confirm that the thermal stability and char yield of PSU/MMT nanocomposites increases with the increase of clay loading. © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim