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The effect of silicate functionalization, anneal temperature, polymer molecular weight, and constituent interactions on polymer melt intercalation of a variety of styrene-derivative polymers in alkylammonium-functionalized silicates is examined. Hybrid formation requires an optimal interlayer structure for the organically-modified layered silicate (OLS), with respect to the number per host area and size of the alkylammonium chains, as well as the presence of polar interactions between the OLS and polymer. From these observations and the qualitative predictions of the mean-field lattice-based model of polymer melt intercalation (preceding paper in this issue), general guidelines may be established for selecting potentially compatible polymer−OLS systems. The interlayer structure of the OLS should be optimized to maximize the configurational freedom of the functionalizing chains upon layer separation while maximizing potential interaction sites with the surface. The most successful polymers for intercalation exhibited polar character or contained Lewis-acid/base groups.
Vaia et al. (Mon,) studied this question.