Synthesis and Characterization of Poly(N-Hydroxymethyl Acrylamide)/Na-Montmorillonite Composites

Abstract

In this study, N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide (HMAm) monomer was mixed with Na-Montmorillonite (Na-MT) in different ratio. The mixture was polymerized in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (Bz2O2) with in-situ radical polymerization to prepare poly(N-hydroxymethyl acrylamide) (PHMAm)/Na-Montmorillonite (Na-MT) composites. Purified Na-MT, and also produced composites with different ratio were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) techniques. The moisture retention, water uptake, adsorptive properties of composites was also researched. The XRD pattern demonstrated that Na-MT layers intercalated into the PHMAm matrix. The composites displayed much better thermal stability than the pure polymer.