Synthesis of Poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate)/Clay Nanocomposite via In Situ AGET ATRP

Poly(styrene-co-butyl acrylate)/clay nanocomposites were synthesized via insitu atom transfer radical polymerization using activators generated by electrontransfer in the presence of a montmorillonite ion-exchanged with mixedsurfactants of dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and vinyl trimethyl ammoniumchloride. The living nature of polymerization is confirmed by occurrence of narrowmolecular weight distribution of the nanocomposites in which copolymers with polydispersityindex of about 1.13-1.15 were obtained. Partial exfoliation of clay layers inthe copolymer matrix was demonstrated by XRD patterns and further studies of TEMimages. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results demonstrated a slight increase inthe thermal stability of nanocomposites in comparison with the neat copolymer. DSCresults indicated a decrease in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of nanocompositesby the addition of clay content which are attributed to low molecular weights of thecopolymers and weaker interactions between polymer chains. The chemical structureand composition of copolymers was identified by 1H NMR analysis.