Polyketone Nanocomposites by Palladium-Catalyzed Ethylene-Carbon Monoxide-(Propene) Co(Ter)polymerization Inside an Unmodified Layered Silicate

Composites from Na-montmorillonite with a content in inorganic material ranging from 3 to 98 wt % were prepared in situ either by copolymerization of ethylene and CO or by terpolymerization of ethylene, propene and CO using a palladium(II) catalyst modified with 1,3-bis( diphenylphosphino) propane. This catalytic system is active in polar media and allowed to produce nanocomposites starting from unmodified Na-montmorillonite in water-methanol solutions. The morphological analysis, performed on samples with less than 40 wt % silicate by XRD and TEM, showed the formation of either intercalated or exfoliated ( nanocomposite) structures, depending on the initial amount of the layered silicate in the reactor as well as the presence of propene as comonomer. Improved thermal stability of the hybrid materials, as compared to the corresponding organic polymers, was shown by TGA. A preliminary study of the blending of some polyketone nanocomposites with polyamide (nylon-6) was carried out by melt mixing at high temperature in a Brabender mixer.