Thermal Degradation of Nanoclay Samples

Nanoclay samples (i.e., unmodified, bentonite (Nanomer PGV) and surface-modified clays: Nanomer I.31PS (0.5–5 wt % aminopropyltriethoxysilane and 15–35 wt % octadecylamine), I.34TCN (25–30 wt % methyl dihydroxylethyl hydrogenated tallow ammonium), and I.44P (35–45 wt % dimethyl dialkyl amine); Supplementary Figure 1a) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Thermal degradation by incineration of such nanoclays was performed at 900 °C using a TGA701 Thermogravimetric Analyzer (LECO). Briefly, samples were heated at 6 °C/min from 25 to 105 °C in nitrogen to measure the moisture content and at 43 °C/min from 105 to 950 °C to determine the high volatile content. Next, samples were evaluated for ash content at 15 °C/min in O atmosphere and between 550 and 900 °C. Resultant ash was collected and used as a model for thermally degraded byproduct formation (referred to hereafter as PGV900, I31900, I34900, and I44900).^{23 (link),24 (link)}