Temperature and pH responsive hybrid nanoclay grafted with PDMAEMA

Recent advances in grafting from techniques have made it possible to produce hybrid materials from montmorillonite clay by covalently grafting polymers to the surface of montmorillonite particles. In this article the temperature and pH responsiveness of a hybrid material consisting of poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) grafted clay is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, pressure perturbation calorimetry and fluorescence spectroscopy. The phase transition is affected not only by the pH of the aqueous medium, but also by the electrostatic interactions between the positively charged polymer and negatively charged clay particles.