Effect of benzimidazolium salt on dispersion and properties of polyphenylene sulfide/organic clay nanocomposites via melt intercalation

Abstract

Nanocomposites of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) were prepared with a benzimidazolium surfactant used as organic modification for the montmorillonite (MMT) by melt blending. The benzimidazolium-modifided MMT (Bz-MMT) exhibited a large interlayer spacing of 3.26 nm and showed a high thermal stability compared to the commonly used clay modified by alkyl ammonium salts (DK-1N). The morphology of the polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)/Bz-MMT nanocomposites were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results showed good overall dispersion of the MMT in PPS matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to evaluate the thermal properties of polymer/clay nanocomposites. The results of DSC showed the addition of MMT resulted in heterogeneous nucleation crystallization of PPS. The results of TGA showed the thermal stability of the polymer/clay nanocomposits was enhanced. The rheological properties of nanocomposites were also evaluated by a Anton Paar rheometer. The results indicated that the addition of Bz-MMT nanoplatelets affected the linear viscoelastic behavior of the PPS matrix by increasing the viscosity.