INCORPORATION OF POLY(ACRYLIC ACID), POLY(VINYLSULFONATE) AND POLY(STYRENESULFONATE) WITHIN LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDES

Poly(acrylic acid), poly(vinylsulfonate) and poly(styrenesulfonate) ha ve been incorporated between the positively charged sheets of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) M(1-x)Al(x)(OH)(2)(+) (M = Mg, Ca, Co) and Zn (1-x)M'(x)(OH)(2)(+) (M' = Al, Cr) to form layered nanocomposites. The resulting nanocomposites contained the LDH sheet structures separated by 7.6-16.0 Angstrom, which is sufficient to accommodate polymer bila yers between the LDK sheets. Preparations were carried out in deaerate d aqueous base by a template reaction, involving the formation and pre cipitation of nanocomposites from metal nitrate-salt precursors in the presence of the dissolved polymer. Structural and compositional detai ls were provided by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR spectroscopy, elemen tal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravim etry (TG). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicates that the nanoc omposition of LDHs with ionomers significantly alters the particle mic rostructure from that of the LDH carbonates derived from aqueous preci pitation.