Novel nanocomposites of poly (vinyl alcohol) and Mg–Al layered double hydroxide intercalated with diacid N-tetrabromophthaloyl-aspartic

In this work, organic diacid was synthesized from tetrabromophthalic anhydrides and l-aspartic acid in refluxed acetic acid at the presence of pyridine. The interlayer basal spacing of LDH was modified with organic diacid via co-precipitation method using ultrasonic irradiation. The intercalated Mg–Al LDH (mLDH) materials showed an increase in interlayer distance as compared to the unmodified Mg–Al LDH by X-ray diffraction. Transmission electron microscopy images showed plate-like nature for intercalated diacid LDH. Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/mLDH nanocomposites (NCs) with different composition of mLDH were prepared through ultrasound-assisted technique in the deionized water by solution intercalation method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy image results show that mLDH was dispersed homogeneously in PVA matrix. Optical clarity of obtained NCs was investigated using UV–visible transmission spectra. Thermogravimetry showed improvement in thermal properties of PVA/mLDH NCs. Mechanical data showed improvement in the tensile strength and modulus with increasing of the mLDH loading.