Media type: E-Article Title: Soil polymer conditioner based on montmorillonite‐poly(acrylic acid) composites Contributor: Lerma, Tulio A.; Palencia, Manuel; Combatt, Enrique M. imprint: Wiley, 2018 Published in: Journal of Applied Polymer Science Language: English DOI: 10.1002/app.46211 ISSN: 0021-8995; 1097-4628 Keywords: Materials Chemistry ; Polymers and Plastics ; Surfaces, Coatings and Films ; General Chemistry Origination: Footnote: Description: <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title><jats:p>The constant deterioration of the soil as a result of natural and anthropogenic processes produces decrease of soil fertility and agricultural production, increase in the cost of food, desertification, and loss of water resources. The objective of this work was to develop a hybrid composite that structural and functionally mimics the humified structure of soils for the development of remediation strategies based on geotransformation of degraded soils. For that, two different strategies for the modification of clay surface were evaluated: (i) covalent linking using trichlorovinylsilane and (ii) electrostatic interaction using <jats:italic>N</jats:italic>‐vinylbenzyl‐<jats:italic>N</jats:italic>‐triethyl ammonium chloride. Later, modified clay was characterized and used as crosslinking agent during the free‐radical polymerization of acrylic acid. Particulate nanostructured polymers were characterized and their water absorption capacity, cationic exchange capacity, and ionic retention capacity were determined. Results showed that clay‐poly(acrylic acid) composites can be obtained by described methodology. In addition, materials with 60 and 80% w/w of modified MMT were obtained with particulate shape, high water absorption capacity (273%–568%), high cationic exchange capacity (124–666 meq+/100 g) and high ionic retention capacity (108–194 and 263–313 meq/100 g for major and minor elements, respectively). Finally, it was concluded that synthesized materials mimic structural and functionally the humified structure of soils. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. <jats:bold>2018</jats:bold>, <jats:italic>135</jats:italic>, 46211.</jats:p>