Research Article Preparation and Characterization of Polymer-Grafted Montmorillonite-Lignocellulose Nanocomposites by In Situ Intercalative Polymerization Tavengwa Bunhu, 1 Nhamo Chaukura, 2 and Lilian Tichagwa 1 1 Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Fort Hare, Alice Campus, Private Bag X1314, Alice 5700, South Africa 2 Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability Research Unit, College of Engineering, Science and Technology, University of South Africa, Johannesburg BE277, South Africa Correspondence should be addressed to Nhamo Chaukura; nchaukura@gmail.com Received 13 April 2016; Revised 9 July 2016; Accepted 11 July 2016 Academic Editor: Mariatti bt Jaafar Copyright © 2016 Tavengwa Bunhu et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Lignocellulose-clay nanocomposites were synthesized using an in situ intercalative polymerization method at 60 ∘ C and a pressure of 1 atm. Te ratio of the montmorillonite clay to the lignocellulose ranged from 1 : 9 to 1 : 1 (MMT clay to lignocelluloses, wt%). Te adsorbent materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray powder difraction (XRD). FTIR results showed that the polymers were covalently attached to the nanoclay and the lignocellulose in the nanocomposites. Both TEM and XRD analysis showed that the morphology of the materials ranged from phase-separated to intercalated nanocomposite adsorbents. Improved thermal stability, attributable to the presence of nanoclay, was observed for all the nanocomposites. Te nanocomposite materials prepared can potentially be used as adsorbents for the removal of pollutants in water treatment and purifcation. 1. Introduction Nanotechnology based methods for water purifcation, if well developed, have the potential to produce highly purifed water at low cost. Nanoadsorbents such as carbon nanotubes, zeolites, carbon nanotubes-supported cerium oxide, acti- vated carbon fbres, alginate/carbon nanotubes composites, and layered double hydroxides have been investigated for the removal of pollutants ranging from heavy metals, dyes, and organics from aqueous systems [1]. Viruses and bacteria can also be removed from water using layered double hydroxides (LDH) nanocomposites with removal efciency greater than 99% [2]. Use has been made of diferent types of nanocomposites for the removal of a wide array of pollutants from contam- inated water. Such pollutants include nitrophenols [3], dyes [4], heavy metals [5, 6], perchlorate ions [7], and chlorinated organics [8]. Removal efciencies of up to 99% were reported for various pollutants by diferent researchers. Nanocomposites thus have the potential to give highly treated and pure waste water efuents. Te major hindrance in the widespread application of nanotechnology, however, is the unavailability of a large quantity of nanomaterials at economically viable prices [1]. Terefore, the search for highly efective, efcient, and low-cost nanoadsorbent materials for water treatment and purifcation is an on-going challenge. Lignocellulose and montmorillonite clay have been iden- tifed as low-cost and potentially efective adsorbent mate- rials. Lignocellulose-montmorillonite clay nanocomposites have been widely studied for application in structural materi- als especially in the furniture and in the packaging industry. Te relatively low-cost lignocellulose-clay nanocomposites can also be used as adsorbent materials for the removal of inorganic and organic pollutants from aqueous solutions. Being derived from biomass, the advantages include low density, low equipment abrasiveness, relatively low cost, and biodegradability. Montmorillonite (MMT) clay is a naturally occurring 2 : 1 phyllosilicate mineral which comes in powder Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Applied Chemistry Volume 2016, Article ID 4137398, 8 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4137398