Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 February 2011
The activation energies for poly(ethylene oxide) motion in a polymer clay composite are reported for the polymer intercalated and external to the clay. PEO intercalated into the clay is found to have a lower activation energy for motion but also a larger Arrhenius prefactor, by almost two orders of magnitude, than for PEO found external to the clay. Neutron scattering measurements confirm the presence of two environments and the effects of confinement on the mean square displacement of the PEO.