Preparation and Properties of Poly(fluorated-acrylate)/Montmorillonite Composite Emulsion

Abstract

Poly(fluorated-acrylic)/montmorillonite (PFA/MMT) composite emulsion was prepared by “in situ” pre-emulsion polymerization in which hexafluorobutyl acrylic (HFBM) was as functional monomer and MMT as modifier. The composite emulsion polymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Thermo-gravimetric analyses (TG). The influences of HFBM and organic MMT with cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (OMMT) on the tensile strength and water absorption of composite emulsion films were also discussed respectively. The analytical results indicated that the quaternary ammonium was intercalated into the layers of MMT, the d-spacing of modified clay with cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) was increased from 1.60 nm to 2.20 nm, and HFBM had effectively participated in emulsion copolymerization. The intercalation/exfoliation of the montmorillonite in fluorated-acrylic emulsion was proved by XRD and TEM. The thermal stability of the composite emulsion films was significantly enhanced and the tensile strength of the films could be improved from 3.14 MPa to 12.33 MPa after the addition of HFBM and OMMT. When the content of OMMT was 2% (w/w), the PFA/MMT composite emulsion film with tensile strength 12.33 MPa had lower water absorption 7.94%. It can be concluded that the fluorated acrylate composite of MMT has better properties than acrylate matrix.