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Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites: Influence of Ionic Strength on the Structure and Adhesion Characteristics in Multilayered Films
Author(s) -
Stefanescu Eduard A.,
Stefanescu Cristina,
Donose Bogdan C.,
Garno Jayne C.,
Daly William H.,
Schmidt Gudrun,
Negulescu Ioan I.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.200800139
Subject(s) - materials science , nanocomposite , small angle x ray scattering , polymer , adhesion , texture (cosmology) , ionic bonding , ionic strength , composite material , chemical engineering , salt (chemistry) , intercalation (chemistry) , ion , scattering , aqueous solution , organic chemistry , optics , chemistry , physics , image (mathematics) , artificial intelligence , computer science , engineering
Abstract The aim of the present contribution is to understand how ionic strength, brought by the addition of salt to laponite/PEO nanocomposite dispersions, influences the texture and adhesion characteristics at nano‐ and microscales in multilayered nanocomposite films prepared from such dispersions. At the nano‐scale, SAXS and XRD measurements indicated that the clay platelets orient parallel to the film plane and that the polymer chains intercalate the clay platelets regardless of salt addition. A gradual transition from an agglomerated structure, containing polymer‐rich and clay‐rich domains, to a fine‐balanced structure with smaller distinct details without excess PEO was observed, via AFM, on the exposed edges of cryo‐microtomed films with increasing ionic strength.