US Patent 7514491 - Polymer/Inorganic clay nanocomposite fabrication

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7514491.html

This patent from ExxonMobile teaches the manufacture of a clay nanocomposite for enhancing the air barrier in tires. Claim 1 reads:

1. A process to produce a nanocomposite comprising the steps of:

(a) mixing an aqueous slurry of clay with a solution of polymer in an organic solvent to form an emulsion comprising a polymer-clay nanocomposite;

(b) recovering the nanocomposite from the emulsion.