Preparation and characterization of novel optically active nanostructured poly(amide–imide)s-containing (L)-a-amino acid moieties and azobenzene side groups

Montmorillonite clay modified with the bio-active trifunctional l-tyrosine amino acid salt was used as a reactive organoclay (OC) for the preparation of poly(amide-imide) (PAI)/OC hybrid films. One of the functional groups of the l-tyrosine as the swelling agent formed an ionic bond with the negatively charged silicates, whereas the remaining functional groups were available for further reaction with polymer matrix. The soluble PAI with amine end groups including phenylalanine amino acid was synthesised under green condition using molten tetra-butylammonium bromide by direct polymerization reaction of chiral diacid and 2-(3,5-diaminophenyl)benzimidazole. PAI/OC bio-nanocomposites films containing different contents of OC were prepared via solution intercalation method through blending of OC with the PAI solution. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the dispersion of silicate layers in the PAI created an exfoliated structure as a result of using the trifunctional groups of the swelling agent. The structure and thermal behavior of the synthesised materials were characterized by a range of methods, including X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H-NMR, electron microscopy, elemental and thermogravimetric analysis techniques. Thermogravimetric analysis results indicated that the addition of OC into the PAI matrix was increased in the thermal decomposition temperatures of the resulted bio-nanocomposites.