Preparation of Exfoliated Sodium-montmorillonite Via 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane Grafting: A Novel Method

Silane grafted sodium-montmorillonite were synthesized by using trifunctional silylating agent (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)). The obtained results revealed that exfoliated type of microstructure was formed after the silylation process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to monitor the grafting reaction, while the percentage of silane loaded into sodium-montmorillonite, was calculated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Moreover, X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments were carried out to evaluate the shift of the basal spacing and/or exfoliation of the silylated Na+-MMT layers. The prepared silylated Na+-MMT can potentially be a good candidate for polymer/clay nanocomposites pplications

Keywords:

Sodium-Montmorillonite , 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane , Silylation Process