Preparation of a novel styrene copolymer: Simultaneously improving the thermal stability and toughness

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn order to improve the flame retardancy of polystyrene, a phosphorus‐ and nitrogen‐containing monomer, N,N‐tetramethyl‐bis(phospohonate)‐2‐hydroxyethyl bis(methylene) amine acrylate (BC2NP2), was synthesized and characterized, and then incorporated into various amounts of polystyrene via radical emulsion copolymerization. The copolymers prepared were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermalgravimetric analysis, microscale combustion calorimeter, dynamic mechanical analysis, and impact tests. The results showed that all the copolymers had well spherical core–shell structure. Notably, despite a few amounts of the BC2NP2 units in copolymers, all the copolymers exhibited significantly enhanced thermal stability, decreased glass transition temperature, and reduced flammability. Furthermore, from dynamic mechanical analysis and impact tests, it was observed the storage modulus was decreased and the impact strength had a certain degree of improvement with the incorporation of commoner. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46120.