Nanoarchitectonics Based on Ultrasonication-Assisted Polymerization for Enhanced Interaction Between Liquid Monomer and LDH Nanosheets

This work reports on the novel ultrasonication-assisted in situ synthesis of ethylene-propylene-1-hexene (EPH)-ZnAl-layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites. The ultrasonication treatment exfoliated the LDH in a few layers or thinner nanosheets, which demonstrated a positive influence over the catalytic activity and formed different active sites. Moreover, the highly dispersed ZnAl sheet in the EPH polymer matrices greatly enhanced its thermomechanical properties, as demonstrated by thermogravimetric and dynamic mechanical analysis. Less than ~ 0.25 wt% of the filler content substantially improved the thermal stability by 34 ℃ and the average activation energy (E_a) of thermal degradation by 48 kJ/mol. The degradation mechanism of the polymer nanocomposites was investigated by a generalized kinetic master plot technique. The neat EP, EPH, and EPH-ZnAl followed the Avrami-Erofeev (A2) kinetic model; however, the ultrasonicated EPH-ZnAl followed the random scission (L2) degradation kinetics. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]