Process of making polymer nanocomposites

1. A process of making a polymer nanocomposite, the process comprising the steps of: exfoliatably contacting a melt comprising a polymer to a mixture comprising an organoclay or organosalt and a swelling liquid, wherein the swelling liquid comprises from 25 wt % to less than 95 wt % of the mixture and the swelling liquid comprises more than 90 weight percent (wt %) water and from 0 wt % to less than 10 wt % of a water-miscible organic solvent, to provide a distribution of the organoclay or organosalt in the melt; and cooling the distribution to provide a polymer nanocomposite comprising the organoclay or organosalt and the polymer, the organoclay or organosalt comprising a cation exchanging layered material, organic cations, and inorganic cations, the cation exchanging layered material having a cation exchanging capacity that is from 40% to 99% exchanged with the organic cations, and the organoclay or organosalt, when distributed in the polymer, being exfoliated and having at least one dimension that is less than 100 nanometers (nm); the process further comprising a step of removing at least 90% of the swelling liquid from the polymer nanocomposite .

2. A process as in claim 1 , the process further comprising a step of molding or extruding the polymer nanocomposite to respectively give a molded or extruded article or forming the polymer nanocomposite into a foam or film, wherein the article, foam, or film comprises the polymer nanocomposite.

3. A process as in claim 1 , A process of making a polymer nanocomposite, the process comprising the steps of: (a) mixing an inorganic clay comprising a cation exchanging layered material and exchangeable inorganic cations and having a cation exchanging capacity, in a precursor liquid comprising water to give an aqueous mixture of a swollen inorganic clay, wherein compositions of the precursor liquid and the swelling liquid are the same; (b) contacting an organic cation material, which comprises organic cations and counter anions, to the swollen inorganic clay to produce a preliminary mixture comprising the precursor liquid, salts comprising the exchangeable cations and counter anions, and an organoclay comprising the cation exchanging layered material and the organic cations, the cation exchanging capacity of the inorganic clay being from 40% to 99% exchanged with the organic cations; and (c1) removing some of the precursor liquid from the preliminary mixture to give a mixture comprising the organoclay and water, wherein water comprises from 25 wt % to less than 95 wt % of the mixture; exfoliatably contacting a melt comprising a polymer to a mixture comprising an organoclay or organosalt and a swelling liquid, wherein the swelling liquid comprises from 25 wt % to less than 95 wt % of the mixture and the swelling liquid comprises more than 90 weight percent (wt %) water and from 0 wt % to less than 10 wt % of a water-miscible organic solvent, to provide a distribution of the organoclay or organosalt in the melt; and cooling the distribution to provide a polymer nanocomposite comprising the organoclay or organosalt and the polymer, the organoclay or organosalt comprising a cation exchanging layered material, organic cations, and inorganic cations, the cation exchanging layered material having a cation exchanging capacity that is from 40% to 99% exchanged with the organic cations, and the organoclay or organosalt, when distributed in the polymer, being exfoliated and having at least one dimension that is less than 100 nanometers (nm).

4. A process as in claim 3 , wherein the step (c1) comprises washing the organoclay of step (c1) with a swelling liquid comprising more than 90 wt % of purified water and from 0 wt % to less than 10 wt % of a water-miscible organic solvent to give a mixture comprising the organoclay and the swelling liquid, wherein the organoclay is desalted, the swelling liquid comprises from 25 wt % to less than 95 wt % of the mixture and the swelling liquid comprises more than 90 weight percent (wt %) water and from 0 wt % to less than 10 wt % of a water-miscible organic solvent.

5. A process as in claim 1 , the process further comprising the preliminary steps of: (a) mixing an inorganic clay comprising a cation exchanging layered material and exchangeable inorganic cations and having a cation exchanging capacity, in a precursor liquid comprising water comprising water to give an aqueous mixture of a swollen inorganic clay, wherein compositions of the precursor liquid and the swelling liquid are different; (b) contacting an organic cation material, which comprises organic cations and counter anions, to the swollen inorganic clay to produce a preliminary mixture comprising the precursor liquid, salts comprising the exchangeable cations and counter anions, and an organoclay comprising the cation exchanging layered material and the organic cations, the cation exchanging capacity of the inorganic clay being from 40% to 99% exchanged with the organic cations;

and (c2) washing the organoclay with a swelling liquid comprising more than 90 wt % of purified water and from 0 wt % to less than 10 wt % of a water-miscible organic solvent to give a mixture comprising an organoclay and a swelling liquid, wherein the swelling liquid comprises from 25 wt % to less than 95 wt % of the mixture and the swelling liquid comprises more than 90 weight percent (wt %) water and from 0 wt % to less than 10 wt % of a water-miscible organic solvent, wherein the organoclay is a desalted organoclay, wherefrom most of the salts comprising the exchangeable cations and counter anions are removed.

6. A process as in claim 1 , wherein the organic cations comprise onium ions.

7. A process as in claim 6 , wherein the onium ions comprise phosphonium, arsenium, sulfonium, oxonium, imidazolium, benzimidazolium, imidazolinium, quaternary ammonium, protonated amine, protonated amine oxide, protonated betaine, pyridinium, anilinium, pyrrolium, piperidinium, pyrazolium, quinolinium, isoqunolinium, indolium, oxazolium, benzoxazolium, or quinuclidinium ions, or a combination of two or more thereof.

8. A process as in claim 1 , wherein the cation exchanging layered material is derived from a montmorillonite, mica, fluoromica, sepiolite, nontronite, bentonite, kaolinite, beidellite, volkonskonite, hectorite, fluorohectorite, saponite, sauconite, stevensite, halloysite, magadite, medmontite, kenyaite, or vermiculite, or a mixture of two or more thereof.

9. A process as in claim 8 , wherein the cation exchanging layered material is derived from fluoromica.

10. A process as in claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a thermoplastic polymer.

11. A process as in claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a fluoroplastic, poly(phenylene ether ketone), aliphatic polyketone, polyester, polycarbonate, polystyrene, or polyolefin.

12. A process as in claim 1 , wherein the polymer is a polyolefin, polystyrene, fluoroplastic, a halogenated polyvinyl polymer, or a mixture thereof.

13. A process as in claim 1 , the cation exchanging capacity being from 50% to 80% exchanged with the organic cations.

14. A process as in claim 1 , wherein the swelling liquid comprises more than 99 wt % water.

15. A polymer nanocomposite made by a process of claim 1 .

16. A polymer nanocomposite as in claim 15 , the organoclay being a desalted organoclay, from 0.05 wt % to 25 wt % of the polymer nanocomposite.

17. A polymer nanocomposite as in claim 16 , the organoclay being from 0.5 wt % to 6 wt % of the polymer nanocomposite.