AVS 50th International Symposium
    Nanotubes Wednesday Sessions
       Session NT-WeP

Paper NT-WeP9
Synthesis of Aluminosilicate Nanotube "Imogolite" in the Presence of Polymer Solution

Wednesday, November 5, 2003, 11:00 am, Room Hall A-C

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: K. Yamamoto, Kyushu University, Japan
Authors: K. Yamamoto, Kyushu University, Japan
H. Otsuka, Kyushu University, Japan
S.-I. Wada, Kyushu University, Japan
A. Takahara, Kyushu University, Japan
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Inorganic nanotube "Imogolite" is a hydrous aluminosilicate polymer with an external diameter of ca. 2.5 nm and lengths from several hundreds nanometer to a micrometer. The authors introduce a novel method for the preparation of polymer nanohybrid through in situ synthesis of imogolite in the aqueous solution of water-soluble polymer. A polymer nanohybrid prepared by this method can be expected to improve the dispersion of imogolite in the polymer matrix compared with that prepared by conventional blending.@footnote 1@ The aqueous dilute solution of aluminum chloride and tetraethoxysilane was stirred and refluxed at 369 K for several days and freeze-drying of the solution gave white powder of synthetic imogolite. The polymer nanohybrid was also prepared through in situ synthesis of imogolite in the presence of poly(vinylalcohol)(PVA) in solution and this reaction was carried out at various concentration of PVA. The formation of synthetic imogoltie was confirmed by IR, WAXD measurement, and AFM observation. The content of imogolite in the each polymer hybrid sample was evaluated by TGA measurement. WAXD profiles of PVA-imogolite nanohybrid showed the sharp diffraction peak of PVA and the diffractions corresponding to the parallel orientation of the bundle of imogolite nanotubes. It was confirmed that synthetic imogolite formed nanoscale fibrous network structure in PVA matrix by the above mentioned procedure. Furthermore, high transparency of synthetic imogolite/PVA hybrid film prepared by this method was attained because of the high dispersibility of synthetic imogolite in PVA solution. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@K. Yamamoto, H. Otsuka, S. -I. Wada, A. Takahara, J. Adhesion, 78, 591 (2002).