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Decomposition of poly(ethylene glycol) in nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Chen Biqiong,
Evans Julian R. G.,
Holding Steve
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.21005
Subject(s) - ethylene glycol , peg ratio , gel permeation chromatography , nanocomposite , aqueous solution , materials science , polymer , molar mass distribution , polymer chemistry , degradation (telecommunications) , decomposition , chemical engineering , intercalation (chemistry) , montmorillonite , chemistry , nuclear chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , telecommunications , finance , computer science , engineering , economics
Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) has been widely used in studies of polymer–clay nanocomposites because it readily intercalates in smectite clays. Nanocomposites were formed from PEG with molecular weights ( M w ) ranging from 300 to 20,000, as evidenced by expansion of the basal planar spacing of the clay ( d 001 ) in X‐ray diffraction. However PEG with high molecular weight (≥ 10,000) readily underwent degradation during preparation of composites when heated at low temperature (60°C) due to oxidative attack. Molecular weight distribution determined by gel permeation chromatography showed that this degradation always happened with or without the presence of clay and it became more serious when the molecular weight was higher. The reduction in pH of aqueous PEG solutions after degradation increased with molecular weight. Since d 001 was independent of molecular weight over a wide range, such degradation cannot be detected by this method. Precautions against oxidative attack are therefore recommended to avoid decomposition when preparing PEG–clay nanocomposites. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 548–552, 2004