Synthesis and characterization of modified properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/organoclay nanocomposites

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/organoclay nanocomposites are prepared and their modified thermal and dielectric properties are studied. First, 2‐methacryloyloxyethyloctadecyldimethylammonium bromide (MEODAB) was synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The synthesized MEODAB was used as organomodifier to modify clay to form organoclay. After that PMMA/organoclay nanocomposites were synthesized by in situ solution polymerization method where methyl methacrylate was polymerized in presence of different proportions of organoclay ranging from 1 to 10 wt%. The prepared nanocomposites are characterized by X‐ray diffraction and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. The thermal stability of PMMA/organoclay nanocomposites is studied by means of thermal gravimetric analysis and its derivative. Dielectric properties are also investigated in which the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of different PMMA/organoclay nanocomposites are determined and discussed in the frequency range of (42 Hz‐5 MHz).