English Abstract

Nanocomposite Clay Masanobu ONIKATA Hojun Co., Ltd. Nippon Gomu Kyokaishi,(2005),78(6),224-230 General Review in Japanese Abstract A lot of studies on inorganic - organic complexes have been widely done to develop the materials with new functions. As a result, many inorganic- organic complexes play an important role in several industrial fields.�@The syntheses of inorganic filler and polymer at the molecular level as nanocomposite have been tried from several years ago. The most suitable inorganic materials with nano-particle size are clay. Montmorillonite, among various clays, acts as nano- filler in polymer because of their high aspect ratio (length: diameter) of about 1000:1. The mechanical and the thermal properties such as strength, modulus, heat resistance, dimensional stability, gas barrier, recyclability of polymer, can be improved by means of dispersion or exfoliation of the layered crystal structure of Montmorillonite to nano-particle size level in the polymer. The exchange of the interlayer inorganic cations such as Na with organic cations such as alkylammonium cations is required to improve the compatibility of hydrophilic layered crystal of Montmorillonite with polymer matrix. In this paper, the characters of the layered clay mineral Montmorillonite and its organophilic analogue, organo-Bentonite are reviewed. Preparation, valcanization, and mechanical properties of the rubber/ organo-Bentonite nanocomposite are also summarized. Keywords: Nanocomposites, Clay, Montmorillonite, Organo-Bentonite, Nano-filler, Rubber

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