ABSTRACT:Montmorillonite minerals were modified in two distinct steps in order to remove hydroxlated toxicants from the aqueous environment. At first, the montmorillonite minerals were acrylated with the silylating agent ␥-methcaryloxypropyl trimethoxysilane to give a product denoted as TAY-10. In the second step these materials readily reacted with vinylpyrrolidone to form copolymers covalently bonded to the clay. All hybrid materials were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffractometry, SEM, and differential thermal analysis. The original montmorillonite structure was maintained for the copolymer modified surfaces. Different loadings of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were examined to arrive at the optimal conditions for the removal of toxicants from the aqueous environment. The presence of the PVP enhanced the adsorption capacity of the clay toward phenolic compounds from solution as evidenced by the retention percent that was as high as 98.9%. These results demonstrated the feasibility of utilizing a PVP modified clay as a thermally recyclable adsorbent for environmental pollutants.

The three-dimensional nano-morphology of poly(methyl methacrylate; PMMA) microcapsules filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and epoxy resin were investigated by various microscopy methods, including a novel, laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) method. Initially, PMMA microcapsules containing various amounts of CNTs were synthesized by a solvent evaporation method. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that pore-free, smooth-surface microcapsules formed with various types of core-shell morphologies. The average size of CNT/epoxy/PMMA microcapsules was shown to decrease from ~52 μm to ~15 μm when mixing speed during synthesis increased from 300 rpm to 1000 rpm. In general, the presence of CNTs resulted in slightly larger microcapsules and higher variations in size. Moreover, three-dimensional scans obtained from confocal microscopy revealed that higher CNT content increased the occurrence and size of CNT aggregates inside the microcapsules. Entrapped submicron air bubbles were also observed inside most microcapsules, particularly within those with higher CNT content.

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Novel natural clay-polymer hybrid materials are prepared from natural bentonite that was modified with silane-coupling agent, ␥-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (A-174), and acrylonitrile. By changing the molar ratio of acrylonitrile in the initial monomer feed, several clay-hybrid materials were prepared. The structure and thermal stability of hybrid materials were investigated by various methods. The A-174-modified bentonite was dispersed in a solution of acrylonitrile in toluene. In this system, radical polymerization in the presence of AIBN was carried out. Product formed at the particle surface was either physically bound by entanglement or chemically bound by covalent bonding to the silane. In this way, core-shell morphology was obtained with an inorganic core and a polymer shell. The results showed that bonding at the surface of bentonite took place by hydrolytic cleavage of methoxy groups of A-174 with hydroxy groups of bentonite.