• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.312-317
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• 2006

In the preparation of a polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) nanocomposite via an in-situ polymerization method, macroazoinitiator (MAI) was intercalated in the gallery of Na-MMT to enhance the delamination of silicate layers by intergallery polymerization. The exfoliated fine dispersion observed by X-ray diffraction pattern and transmission electron microscopy, the enhanced tensile storage modulus and the thermal decomposition temperature showed that the intercalated MAI was effective in inducing intergallery polymerization and that a poly(ethylene glycol) block linked to a PAN block improved the dispersion of hydrophilic Na-MMT in the polymer matrix.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.102-106
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• 2005

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) nanocomposites were prepared with a novel method utilizing a macroazoinitiator (MAI). To induce the intergallery polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), the MAI containing a po1y(ethylene glycol) (PEG) segment was intercalated between the lamellae of Na-MMT and swelled with water to enhance the diffusion of MMA into the gallery. The structure of the nanocomposite was examined using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, and the thermal properties were examined using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. The PMMA/Na-MMT nanocomposite prepared by intergallery polymerization showed a distinct enhancement of its thermal properties; an approximately $30^{\circ}C$ increase in its glass transition temperature and an $80\sim100^{\circ}C$ increase in its thermal decomposition temperature for a $10\%$ weight loss.