Patent ID: 6881798

Claim:
A method of preparing an exfoliated acrylonitrile polymer/silicate nanocomposite, said method comprising the step of emulsion polymerizing at least one monomer constituting said polymer and at least one non-modified, layered silicate in the presence of at least one reactive emulsifier which comprises one or more selected form the group consisting of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid, (3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride, [2-(acrloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium methyl sulfate, vinylbenzyltrimethylammonium chloride, 3-acrylamido-3-methylbutyltrimethyl-ammonium chloride, N,N-dialkylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-dialkylaminoethyl methacrylate, N,N-dimethylaminoethyl acrylate, N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate, N,N-dimethylaminomethyl acrylamide, N,N-dimethylaminopropyl methacrylamide, 2-methacrylamidopropyltrimethylammonium chloride, and 1,1-(dimethyl-1-(3-methacryloxy-ethyl)-1-(3-sulfopropyl) ammonium betaine.