Silylated functionalized montmorillonite clay for nanocomposite preparation

Abstract

Hydrothermal silylation reaction between a norbornenyl-bearing chlorosilane coupling agent and the silanol groups of the montmorillonite (MMT) clay results in a functionalized organoclay. To do this, the clay samples were previously modified using different alkyl ammonium surfactants prior to silylation. Apparently, the different surfactant modifiers used led to different clay morphologies for the silylated functionalized clay templates as confirmed by x-ray diffraction and elemental micro-analysis.