Abstract:
The montmorillonite (MMT) clay was intercalated with polyaniline (PANI) to prepare
montmorillonite - polyaniline nanocomposites (MMT-PANI). The MMT clay was ion
exchanged with H+ and dried at 120°C for 2 hours. The H+ present in the clay was then
exchanged with anilinium ions. The anilinium ions r.resent within the intergalleries were
polymerized by a chemical oxidation route using 8208 ', The resultant slurry was dried under
room temperature for 3 to 4 days. The green coloured polyaniline form known as the
emeraldine salt (EMS) containing MMT composite (EMS - MMT) was obtained. Various
compositions with different clay contents (2 g, 3 g, 4 g, 5 g, and 10 g) were prepared with
constant polymer content and named as EMS-MMTI, EMS-MMTI, EMS-MMT4, EMSMMT5 and EMS-MMTlO respectively. X-ray diffraction spectra (Seimens D-5000, Radiation
Cu lea A. = O.l540562nm) were obtained for raw MMT clay, H+ treated MMT and for the
EMS-MMT series.
