Preparation and evaluation of composites from montmorillonite and some heterocyclic polymers. II. A nanocomposite from N‐vinylcarbazole and ferric chloride‐impregnated montmorillonite polymerization system

The polymerization of N‐vinylcarbazole in the presence of FeCl₃‐impregnated montmorillonite resulted in the formation of a poly(N‐vinylcarbazole)–montmorillonite composite. XRD analysis of the composite revealed no expansion for d₀₀₁ spacing, in sharp contrast to that for the same composite prepared in the absence of FeCl₃. This indicated that the poly(N‐vinylcarbazole) was not intercalated in the montmorillonite lamellae but was glued to it in the same way as was polypyrrole in colloidal silica, zirconia, or tin oxide nanocomposite systems. TEM analysis revealed the particle size of the composite to be in the range 30–40 nm. The dc conductivity of the poly(N‐vinylcarbazole)–montmorillonite composite was in the range (3–5) × 10⁻⁵ S/cm depending upon the FeCl₃ loading of montmorillonite. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 2971–2976, 1999