Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2006
Layered manganese oxide nanocomposite (PQN2MO) with Polyquaternium-2 (PQN2) incorporated between manganese oxide sheets was synthesized through a delamination/reassembling process. The synthesized material was characterized by powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, thermal analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy observation. XRD analysis showed that the expansion of the interlayer depended on the amount of PQN2 intercalated; the largest expansion was 0.94 nm, corresponding to a layer of PQN2 chains existing in the interlayer at an angle of about 30°. Chemical analysis results indicated that the tetramethylammonium (TMA+) ions in the interlayer were partly replaced by PQN2 polycations by an ion exchange mechanism, resulting in a nanocomposite in which TMA+ ions and PQN2 polycations simultaneously existed in the interlayer. The intercalated PQN2 polycations were selectively extracted, and TMA+ ions were stable enough to remain in the interlayer against the acid treatment. PQN2MO nanocomposite was composed of platelike nanocomposite particles.