SYNTHESIS AND BARRIER PROPERTIES OF POLY(EPSILON-CAPROLACTONE)-LAYERED SILICATE NANOCOMPOSITES

A new polymer-ceramic nanocomposite has been synthesized consisting of well-dispersed, two-dimensional layers of an organically modified mica-type silicate (MTS) within a degradable poly(epsilon-caprolactone) matrix. A protonated amino acid derivative of MTS was used to promote delamination/dispersion of the host layers and initiate ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone monomer, resulting in poly(epsilon-caprolactone) chains that are ionically bound to the silicate layers. The polymer chains can be released from the silicate surface by a reverse ion-exchange reaction and were shown to be spectroscopically similar to pure poly(epsilon-caprolactone). Thick films of the polymer nanocomposite exhibit a significant reduction in water vapor permeability that shows a linear dependence on silicate content. The permeability of nanocomposite containing as low as 4.8% silicate by volume was reduced by nearly an order of magnitude compared to pure poly(epsilon-caprolactone). (C) 1995 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.