Fluorene-based polyester nanocomposites via in situ interlayer polymerization

Abstract

Fluorene-based polyester nanocomposites were prepared by in situ polymerization of equivalent weights of 9,9'-dihexylfluorene-2,7-dicarboxylic acid and 4,4'-dihydroxy-1,4-diphenoxybutane (DPB-OH) in the presence of octadecyl-montmorillonite (C-18-MMT) as an organoclay. We investigated the intercalation of the organoclay among the polymer chains, with the aim of improving the thermal properties of the polyester. It was found that the addition of only a small amount of organoclay was enough to improve the polyester's thermal properties. The maximum enhancement of the thermal properties of the fluorene-based polyester nanocomposites was observed with the dispersion of 5 wt% organoclay. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.