Abstract
This work focuses on the preparation and characterization of polystyrene/organoclay nanocomposites. The effects of the nature of the organoclays and the method of preparation were studied in order to evaluate their morphological, thermal and mechanical properties. X-ray diffraction (SAXS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM, TEM), atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to determine the characteristics of the resulting materials. Initially, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was used as an organomodifier to modify the clay to form an organic clay. After that, polystyrene/organoclay nanocomposites were synthesized by an in situ mass polymerization process in which styrene was polymerized in the presence of different proportions of organoclay ranging from 1 to 15% by weight. The results obtained confirm the intercalation of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTA) surfactant in the clay layers, while the nanocomposites obtained showed morphologies in which the exfoliated forms were obtained. Nanocomposites showed a significant improvement in thermal stability compared to unmodified polystyrene. The highlighting of the modification was examined by mechanical tests (shock, traction). The Charpy impact test showed an increase in impact resilience, and this is mainly due to a better interfacial adhesion of the matrix. The tensile test showed an improvement in stiffness.Graphic abstractThe preparation of polystyrene–clay nanocomposites containing various amounts of organoclays ranging from 1 to 15% using the mass polymerization technique has shown the positive effect of the introduction of a cetyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant chain on the thermal stability of the nanocomposites. Exfoliated morphologies were obtained for the majority of the prepared nanocomposites. A structure, surface and thermal property relationship was established based on TGA, XRD and TEM/SEM analyses.
Highlights
Recent advances in materials technology have fostered the development of various preparation strategies and applications of new polymer–clay nanocomposites
An absorption band centred on 3620 cm−1 is due to the valence vibrations of the OH groups linked to the octahedral cations Al(Al–OH–Al) [22] and the band at 3440 cm−1 which is due to the OH–Fe+3 valence vibrations which widens the adsorption band
It has been found that the increase in modulus is greater for exfoliated nanocomposites. This work made it possible to prepare modified polystyrene–clay nanocomposites using different quantities of organoclays ranging from 1 to 15% using the in situ polymerization technique
Summary
Recent advances in materials technology have fostered the development of various preparation strategies and applications of new polymer–clay nanocomposites. The use of a polymer matrix by adding a well-defined percentage of clay as reinforcement leads to the improvement in the physicochemical properties of the resulting nanocomposite and increase in the biodegradability of the polymer [6,7,8,9,10] All these improvements depend on several parameters such as clay distribution (dimensions, shape factor, exfoliation ...) and polymer–clay interaction [7]. The improved properties of polymer–clay nanocomposites can be explained by the special properties of clays, such as swelling and ion exchange, and by their structural nature [11] Their twodimensional structures in lamellar form and their electronegative colloidal charge make them the compounds of choice for various organic molecules, including cationic surfactant molecules. The method of preparation of nanocomposites is a very important parameter that has a direct impact on the structural, thermal and mechanical properties of the materials obtained
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