In situsynthesis of A3-type star polymer/clay nanocomposites by atom transfer radical polymerization

Abstract

A series of A3-type star poly(methylmethacrylate)/ clay nanocomposites is prepared by in situ atom transfer radi- cal polymerization (ATRP) initiated from organomodified mont- morillonite containing quaternary trifunctional ATRP initiator. The first order kinetic plot shows a linear behavior, indicating the controlled character of the polymerization. The resulting nanocomposites are characterized by spectroscopic (XRD), thermal (DSC and TGA), and microscopic (TEM) analyses. The exfoliated nanocomposite has been obtained when polymeriza- tion was conducted with 1% of organic clay loading. Thermal analyses show that all nanocomposites have higher glass tran- sition values and thermal stabilities compared to neat polymer. V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 5257-5262