Caramel–clay nanocomposites

Novel nanocomposite materials have been prepared following a microwave assisted reaction of sucrose with 2 : 1 phyllosilicates belonging to the clay minerals family. In this way, sucrose gives macromolecular intercalation compounds (referred to as “caramel–clay nanocomposites”) when mixtures of this disaccharide with Na–montmorillonite are heated in a monomodal microwave furnace. The starting, intermediate and final materials were characterized by XRD, FTIR, DTA-TG, 13C NMR, SEM, N2 adsorption (BET) and in situ EIS. It is proposed that a rapid intercalative polycondensation of sucrose forms conventional caramel under these experimental conditions. The most interesting feature of these compounds is their excellent behaviour as precursors of carbon–clay nanocomposites, presenting attractive characteristics as environmental friendly porous materials of low cost provided with electrical conductivity.