(17f) Preparation of Nano-Structured Hybrid Materials Via In Situ Synthesis

Nanostructured polymer-inorganic composite materials, including polymer nanocomposites, layer-by-layer assembled thin films, have been extensively investigated over the past two decades and have found wide applications owing to their excellent performance. Either regular polymer nanocomposites or layer-by-layer assembled thin films are typically prepared using pre-synthesized nanofillers/nanoplatelets. Here, we report a new approach to prepare nanostructured composite materials via in situ synthesis of nanoplatelets within the polymer/monomer matrix. Alpha-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) was synthesized in a solution system containing a polymer (such as polyethylene glycol, PEG) or monomer. During the synthesis of α-ZrP, PEG chains were embedded into the α-ZrP interlayer space, leading to a larger interlayer distance, which is similar to the intercalated layered compound. Proper formulation ratio proved to be critical to avoid forming pristine α-ZrP, and avoid interfering the growth of the layered structure of α-ZrP. It has also been found that longer polymer chains are desirable for minimizing the formation of pristine α-ZrP, but would not affect the interlayer distance. All the PEG chains are perfectly parallel to the layer planes. Besides polymers, many other molecules have also been successfully embedded into the interlayer space to form an intercalated structure during in situ synthesis.