| Abstract
| - Nanocomposite materials of clay nanoparticles and polystyrene were prepared using living anionicsurface-initiated polymerization (LASIP). The montmorillonite clay surface and intergallery interfaceswere intercalated with 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE), an organic cation and initiator derivative for anionicpolymerization. Its intercalation was confirmed by a series of characterization methods including X-raydiffraction (XRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectronspectroscopy (XPS). The results showed a complete replacement of the Na counterions by the chargedinitiators. LASIP was performed in a high-vacuum reaction setup for anionic polymerization using differentstyrene monomer/initiator ratios. A living anionic polymerization mechanism was determined from molecularweight (MW) data and the molecular weight distribution. A comparison of FT-IR, TGA, XPS, XRD, andatomic force microscopy (AFM) data confirmed that polystyrene was indeed “grafted from” clay surfacesfor these composite materials. The initiation efficiency was distinguished between surface- and intergalleryinterface-bound initiators.
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