Polymeric herbicide–Montmorillonite composite: synthesis, characterization and release studies

The production of polymeric herbicide intercalated onto montmorillonite interlayer through the process of cation exchange, in order to produce chemically bound polymeric herbicide with clay, has been reported. This was carried out by cation exchange of clay with onium salts of preformed polymeric pentachlorophenyl methacrylate. The products were characterized by various techniques including IR spectroscopy and elemental microanalysis. The interlayer spacing was determined by X‐ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and calcination investigated the thermal stability. The morphology of the composite was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The swelling behaviors in different solvents and release of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in different medium have been described.