Abstract
Polystyrene/organoclay nanocomposites have been prepared by melt blending in a vertical co-rotating twin-screw mixer. Monodisperse polymers having molecular weights of 18k and 49k were investigated. Low molecular weight polystyrenes were chosen to take advantage of the high viscosities near T g, allowing temperature variation to provide for several orders of magnitude of viscosity and to correspondingly change the shear stress. Melt rheology was the primary tool used to determine the extent of exfoliation in the nanocomposite samples. The highest amount of exfoliation at low clay loading was present in samples with an 18k matrix favoring low temperature. A bimodal polystyrene matrix facilitated dispersion, but the low molecular weight chains compromised the final moduli.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | ANTEC 2004 - Annual Technical Conference Proceedings, Volume 2 |
| Subtitle of host publication | Materials |
| Pages | 1336-1340 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Volume | 2 |
| State | Published - Jun 1 2004 |
| Event | ANTEC 2004 - Annual Technical Conference Proceedings - Chicago, IL., United States Duration: May 16 2004 → May 20 2004 |
Other
| Other | ANTEC 2004 - Annual Technical Conference Proceedings |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United States |
| City | Chicago, IL. |
| Period | 5/16/04 → 5/20/04 |
Keywords
- Nanocomposite
- Polystyrene
- Rheology
- Stress