Preparation of Reactive and Thermal Stable Hyperbranched Graft Copolymers/ Clay Nanocomposite via ‘Living’ Free Radical Polymerization

Abstract

Exfoliated poly (Chloromethyl styrene-co-styrene)-g-polyacrylonitryle/organo- modified montmorillonite [P(CMSt-co-St)-g-PAN/O-MMT] nanocomposite was synthesized through solution intercalation method by using atom transfer and nitroxide mediated radical polymerization. At first, poly (chloromethyl styrene-costyrene) copolymer was synthesized by nitroxide - mediated “living" free radical polymerization (NMRP). This chlorinated copolymer used as a macro initiators for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). These macro initiators were polymerized acrylonitryle monomers in the presence of CuCl as a catalyst and the 2, 2' – bi pyridine (bpy) as a legend in the tetrahydrofurane (THF) solvent at 90oC. Organophilic montmorillonite (O-MMT) was obtained after treating by hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride salt by ion-exchange process. Finally, (PCMSt-co-PSt)-g-PMMA / O-MMT nanocomposite was prepared by solution intercalation method. The exfoliating structure of nanocomposite was probed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).