Intercalation agent free compositions useful to make nanocomposite polymers

A method for preparing a filler composition, the filler composition useful to prepare a nanocomposite polymer, comprising the steps of:

• (a) dispersing a water dispersible filler material in a liquid comprising water to form a dispersion;
• (b) replacing at least a portion of the water of the liquid with an organic solvent so that the water concentration of the liquid is less than six percent by weight to form the filler composition, the average size of at least one dimension of the filler material being less than two hundred nanometers upon examination by transmission electron microscopy of a representative freeze dried sample of the dispersion of step (a), wherein the method does not include a step of adding an intercalation agent to the water dispersible filler, and the water dispersible filler material is a cation exchanging layered material having a cation exchanging capacity that is less than twenty percent exchanged with an organic cation.