Maghnite –Fe, a modified Montmorillonite clay "Algerian MMT" as an efficient and a New Solid Eco-Catalyst for the Cationic Polymerisation of Styrene

Abstract

In this study, Fe-Montmorillonite "Fe-MMT" or "Magnite-Fe" was found and employed as a novel and efficient solid catalyst for the production of polystyrene (PS).

In this work, and in order to respect and implement the principles of green chemistry, a novel green approach was utilized for the first time to explore the cationic polymerization of styrene. This technique is to use Maghnite-Fe as an environmentally friendly catalyst in place of the harmful homogeneous catalysts.

It was discovered that the cationic polymerization of styrene caused by the maghnite-Fe takes happen under benign circumstances at low mass and temperature.

The term "Maghnite-Fe" refers to a montmorillonite sheet silicate clay from the city of Maghnia in western Algeria that has had the iron ions removed from it to act as a heterogeneous catalyst for the cationic polymerization of a number of monomers.

It is simple to regenerate and reuse the catalyst that has been removed from the reaction mixture by filtration. FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to analyze the catalyst. By using FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, and ¹³C-NMR analytical methods, the properties and structure of the resultant Schiff bases and poly(Styrene) were assessed. A possible mechanism for this cationic polymerization is proposed and discussed based on the NMR spectroscopy results of these model reactions. From studies of the reaction mechanism, it was found that the monomer was introduced into the growth chains.