Ceramics-Silikáty 56 (4) 306-313 (2012)

ORGANIC-INORGANIC HYBRIDS PREPARED FROM ALKYL PHOSPHONIUM SALTS INTERCALATED MONTMORILLONITES

S. Ganguly, K. Dana, T. K. Parya, T. K. Mukhopadhyay, S. Ghatak

Present investigation is focused on systematic and detailed characterization of alkyl phosphonium intercalated montmorillonite (MMT). The objective of the work is to provide a better understanding of the specific changes in properties of the hybrid material with changes in structure of incoming organic cations. In the present work, Na-MMT was intercalated with phosphonium salts of two different cationic head compositions namely alkyl triphenyl and alkyl tributyl groups. Length of alkyl chain was also varied. Resultant organic-inorganic hybrids were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Thermogravimetry (TG) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Effective volume occupied by the cationic heads influenced interlayer arrangements. Intercalated MMT with two different cationic heads behaved differently in relation to thermal decomposition patterns. Possible explanation was given based on hybridization of bonds. Van der Waals attachment of alkyl chains influenced the interlayer stacking and organic loading. Attempts were made to correlate the changes in properties of intercalated MMT with the structural aspects of incoming organic cations.

Keywords: Montmorillonite, Alkyl phosphonium salts, Organic-Inorganic Hybrids, Interlayer spacing, Organic loading