Synthesis and properties of polyimide–clay hybrid

TLDR: A polyimide hybrid with montmorillonite clay mineral has been synthesized from a dimethylacetamide (DMAC) solution of poly(amic acid) and a DMAC dispersion of montmoroniite intercalated with an ammonium salt of dodecylamine as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: A polyimide hybrid with montmorillonite clay mineral has been synthesized from a dimethylacetamide (DMAC) solution of poly(amic acid) and a DMAC dispersion of montmorillonite intercalated with an ammonium salt of dodecylamine. Montmorillonite consists of stacked silicate sheets about 2000 A in length, 10 A in thickness. In this hybrid, montmorillonite is dispersed homogeneously into the polyimide matrix and oriented parallel to the film surface. Thanks to this special structure, this hybrid showed excellent gas barrier properties. Only 2 wt % addition of montmorillonite brought permeability coefficients of various gases to values less than half of those of ordinary polyimide. Furthermore, this hybrid had low thermal expansion coefficient. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.