Dispersing organoclay in polystyrene melts: Roles of stress and diffusion

Michail K. Dolgovskij, Frédéric Lortie, Christopher W. MacOsko

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Organoclay was dispersed in polystyrene of five different relative molecular mass by melt blending. Melt rheology was used to screen the resulting nanocomposite samples for a plateau in the elastic modulus G′. Presence of this plateau behavior indicates a solid-like network in the blend, brought about by dispersion of the organoclay. Using the values of the G′ plateaus for the PS blends, a percolation theory was tested for the nanocomposites and two solvent/organoclay blends. Lowering the blending temperature to take advantage of high mixing viscosity and subsequent high mixing stress allowed for stronger networks to be formed than when processing conditions favored increased diffusion. A constant viscosity mixing study shows that the relative molecular mass is the most prominent variable affecting dispersion in PS nanocomposites and has reaffirmed the importance of stress over diffusion. By applying high stress to 18 kg/mol PS with 1% organoclay, we were able to disperse the clay to an aspect ratio of 60. Several master batching methods and PS-NH2 compatibilizer were also considered.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)196-201
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Central South University of Technology (English Edition)
Volume14
Issue number1 SUPPL.
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2007

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Dow Corporation for generously donating the low molecular mass polymers used in this work. We would also like to acknowledge Agnes Hulman and Jon Grzeskowiak for help in preparing blends. We thank General Motors for funding this work and Will Rodgers and Paula Fasulo from GM for many discussions regarding this study.

Keywords

  • Diffusion
  • Dispersion
  • Exfoliation
  • Melt blending
  • Nanocomposite
  • Polystyrene
  • Stress

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