Montmorillonite is the main
constituent of bentonite and it is a smectite clay of worldwide distribution. Workers in the field have been trying to improve the miscibility of the clay in
polymers for more than 100 years.
The patented material, described in US patent number 6,734,229, is one of the
latest of these materials and could provide to the coatings formulator options
that the previous generations of organically modified clays (OMC) could not.
Our process produces OMC particles that are generally on the lower end of the
colloidal scale, rending them nearly invisible to the unaided eye while raising
the coating’s Tg and other mechanical
properties.