One-step exfoliation of montmorillonite via phase inversion of amphiphilic copolymer emulsion

The one-step process of exfoliation of Na+-montmorillonite (MMT) through a micelle phase inversion mechanism was analyzed for grafted copolymers with quaternary ammonium salts. The sample was titrated to have an acid number of 47 mg KOH/g and was estimated by gel permeation chromatography. Two poly(oxyalkylene)-amines (POA-amines) such as POP2000 and POE2000, were grafted onto the meleated polypropylene (MPP). The intercalation was performed by mixing the swelled Na+-MMT in water and emulsion of copolymer amine salts in toluene/water. The results show that a direct process can be achieved by using colloidal particles of multiple quaternary ammonium salt grafted on a PP backbone copolymer as the ionic exchanging agent.