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DOES WATER SWELL THE ORDERED DOMAINS IN POLYELECTROLYTE/CLAY MULTILAYERS?

Departments of Chemistry and Materials Science and Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015-3172, USA

^* E-mail address of corresponding author: gf03{at}lehigh.edu

X-ray diffraction has been used to study the sorption of water by multilayer films containing ordered stacks of alternating layers of an organic polyelectrolyte and individual platelets of a smectite. The position and shape of the 001 reflections due to the ordered polyelectrolyte/platelet stacks were essentially the same when in air at low relative humidity (23–25% RH) and under water. These data indicate that swelling occurs exclusively in X-ray amorphous regions within the film, and that the ordered polyelectrolyte/clay domains themselves are not ‘swellable’ by water.

Key Words: Laponite • Montmorillonite • Multilayer • Polyelectrolyte • Polymer-clay Composite • Stepwise Adsorption • Swelling