Abstract
The process of strengthening interfaces in polymer blend nanocomposites (PBNs) has been studied extensively, however a corresponding significant enhancement in the electrical and rheological properties is not always achieved. In this work, we exploit the chemical reaction between polystyrene maleic anhydride and the amine group in nylon (polyamide) to achieve an in-situ compatibilization during melt processing. Herein, nanocomposites were made by systematically adding polystyrene maleic anhydride (PSMA) at different compositions (1–10 vol%) in a two-step mixing sequence to a Polystyrene (PS)/Polyamide (aPA) blend with constant composition ratio of 25:75 (PS + PSMA:aPA) and 1.5 vol% carbon nanotube (CNT) loading. The order of addition of the individual components was varied in two-step mixing procedure to investigate the effect of mixing order on morphology and consequently, on the final properties. The electrical and rheological properties of these multiphase nanocomposite materials were investigated. The optical microscope images show that for PS/aPA systems, CNTs preferred the matrix phase aPA, which is the thermodynamically favorable phase according to the wettability parameter calculated using Young’s equation. However, aPA’s great affinity for CNT adversely influenced the electrical properties of our blend. Adding PSMA to PS/aPA changed the structure of the droplet phase significantly. At 1.5 vol% CNT, a more regular and even distribution of the droplet domains was observed, and this produced a better framework to create more CNT networks in the matrix, resulting in a higher conductivity. For example, with only 1.5 vol% CNT in the PBN, at 3 vol% PSMA, the conductivity was 7.4 × 10−2 S/m, which was three and a half orders of magnitude higher than that seen for non-reactive PS/aPA/CNT PBN. The mechanism for the enhanced conductive network formation is delineated and the improved rheological properties due to the interfacial reaction is presented.
Highlights
Polymer blends for the most part are thermodynamically immiscible, the combination of different polymers creates a significant advantage for final polymer properties [1]
We studied the selective localization of Carbon nanotube (CNT), blend morphology of PS:a Polystyrene (PS)/Polyamide (aPA) and the electrical and rheological properties of the polymer blend nanocomposites (PBNs)
The polystyrene maleic anhydride (PSMA) and aPA added after the CNT is well dispersed inside PS first (MO III)
Summary
Polymer blends for the most part are thermodynamically immiscible, the combination of different polymers creates a significant advantage for final polymer properties [1]. The morphology and the interfaces between the micro and nano phases influence the macroscopic properties of polymer blends [2] and we can tailor the property profile of the resulting multiphase system. Filler addition has been shown to impact the general properties of the system [4,5]. We need to strategically enhance the interfacial adhesion such that the composites’ mechanical properties are significantly improved. The fillers tend to migrate between the polymer
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