Synthesis of polyacrylamide/α-zirconium phosphate nanocomposite by in-situ intercalative polymerization and the characterization of its structure

The polyacrylamide (PAM)/a-zirconium phosphate(alpha-ZrP) nanocomposite was synthesized by in situ intercalative polymerization of acrylamide monomer with a-ZrP exfoliated by methylamine. Its structure and morphology were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). The results demonstrated that the interlayer distance of a-ZrP was expanded effectively after the polymerization of acrylamide, even fort-ning exfoliated nanocomposite. Both XRD and TEM image confirmed that the most of the layers of a-ZrP were dispersed well in the polymer matrix, and the PAM/alpha-ZrP intercalated nanocomposite with the d-spacing of about 1.5 nm can be obtained at a high loading of a-ZrP(mass fraction >= 10%). At the same time, some of the layers of a-ZrP were exfoliated and dispersed disorderly in the PMA matrix.