Novel, ternary clay/polypyrrole/silver hybrid materials through in situ photopolymerization

• Clay/polypyrrole/silver hybrids via simple photopolymerization process using AgNO3 sensitizer.
• Silanization of the clay imparts polypyrrole/silver-rich surface.
• The ternary silanized clay/polypyrrole/silver hybrids are exfoliated.
• The hybrid structures are effective catalysts for the reduction of methylene blue.

Clay–polypyrrole–silver hybrid material was synthesized via one pot photopolymerization of pyrrole using silver nitrate as a photosensitizer in the presence of clay (montmorillonite, MMT). We have silanized the clay using a pyrrolyl-functionalized silane to provide anchor sites for the polypyrrole/silver composite coating (PPyAg). The silanized clay was effective in the making of a ternary hybrid material (MMT–Sil–PPyAg) which exhibits a PPyAg-rich surface. The polypyrrole and silver mass loadings were estimated to 19 and 27 wt.%, respectively. Interestingly, silanization by pyrrole functionalized silane permits to fully exfoliate the clay upon the photopolymerization process. In contrast, without silanization, the surface of the ternary hybrid material MMT–PPyAg is rather aluminosilicate-rich despite a black colour of the final product. We demonstrate that the anchored Ag particles are in the metallic state. We evaluated the propensity of the PPyAg-modified silanized clay to catalyse the reduction of methylene blue by NaBH4 and found it levels off to 94% within a few minutes only.This work conclusively demonstrate that UV-induced polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of a layered silicate is simple and fast; in addition, it permits to design novel hybrid materials with high catalytic performances

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