title: Thermal properties of PMMA/montmorillonite clay nanocomposites.
abstract: Polymer/Clay offer tremendous improvement in wide range of physical and engineering properties for polymers with low filler loading. In nanotechnology polymer/clay nanocomposites use smectitetype clays that have layered structures. In this work, Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was synthesized by free radical addition polymerization in the presence of high power ultrasound. The Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-Montmorillonite (MMT) clay nanocomposites were synthesized by two different techniques viz., ultrasonic mixing and magnetic stirring. An analysis of the XRD data confirms that the composites are in the nanometer scale. The FTIR spectra show that there is strong interaction between the clay and the polymer that enhances the thermal stability. The thermal stability of the experimental nanocomposite prepared by the two processes is compared. Further analysis of XRD data shows that intercalation as well as exfoliation has taken place in both the types of nanocomposites preparation. An analysis of the TG, DTG curves reveal that the thermal stability is found to increase by nearly 30% for ultrasonic mixing than that of magnetic stirring.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai 625021, India
authors.forename: M A Jothi
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mathavan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ramasubbu
authors.forename: Arockiam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thaddeus
authors.forename: V Fragrance
authors.initials: VF
authors.lastname: Latha
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Vivekanandam
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Umapathy
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry*; D001546:Bentonite / Q000737:chemistry*; D000077215:Clay; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D044367:Phase Transition; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D001546:Bentonite; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate; D000077215:Clay