Improvement of the thermal and mechanical behaviour of polystyrene (PS)-based nanocomposite films by modification of the composition and type of nanofiller

Zoulikha Khiati; Lahouari Mrah; Abdelmoumin Mezrai

doi:10.1515/ipp-2024-0089

Article

Improvement of the thermal and mechanical behaviour of polystyrene (PS)-based nanocomposite films by modification of the composition and type of nanofiller

Zoulikha Khiati , Lahouari Mrah and Abdelmoumin Mezrai

Published/Copyright: September 5, 2024

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From the journal International Polymer Processing Volume 39 Issue 5

Abstract

In the present study, a simple yet efficient approach to the preparation of polystyrene nanocomposites based on a natural Algerian organophilic clay, called Maghnite, was addressed. The dispersion of the PS matrix polymer in the organophilic clay sheets was optimised. The resultant organic clays have been used for the preparation of PS nanocomposites by in situ polymerization. Both organic clays identified as Mag-CTA (0.5CEC) and Mag-CTA (2.5CEC) were used. The properties of the PS/Mag-CTA nanocomposites were studied using various physicochemical techniques (XRD, FTIR, TGA, TEM). Structural and thermal measurements were carried out on these materials. It was shown that the structural design of the surfactant influences both the morphological and thermal profile of the resulting nanocomposites. Optimization of the thermal behaviour was observed at a weight content of 5 % for both types of clay. The results of the gel permeation chromatography analysis of the nanocomposites showed that the presence of Maghnite-CTA reduced the average molecular weight as well as the average particle size of the PS. The best performance in terms of Young’s modulus, impact resistance and tensile strength was obtained from nanocomposites with 5 % organic content. The presence of organics causes the MFI of SP to decrease.

Keywords: polystyrene (PS); montmorillonite organoclay; modifier; clay; nanocomposites; gel permeation chromatography

Corresponding author: Lahouari Mrah, Higher School of Electrical and Energy Engineering, Chemin Vicinal No.9, 31000 Oran, Algeria; and Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry, University Oran 1 Ahmed Ben Bella, BP 1524 El M’nouer, Oran 13000, Algeria, E-mail: houarimrah3@gmail.com

Research ethics: The manuscript is not submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous review. The manuscript is not the subject of a previous publication (in part or in full), transparency is required on the re-use of the material in order to avoid any suspicion of text recycling (“self-plagiarism”). A single study does not have multiple parts in order to increase the number of submissions and is not submitted to multiple journals. No data has been fabricated or manipulated (including images). Consent to the submission is formally given by all co-authors, as well as by the responsible authorities both tacitly and explicitly of the institute where the work was carried out, before the work is submitted. The authors named in the submission have sufficiently contributed to the scientific work and therefore share the collective responsibility and account-ability for the results. The group of authors ensures that the corresponding author and the order of authors are correct at the time of submission.
Author contributions: The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Research funding: The financial support of the Algerian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS), and the financial support of the Higher School of Electrical and Energy Engineering, Oran, Chemin Vicinal N°9, 31000, Algeria (ESGEE) are gratefully acknowledged.
Data availability: Research data are not shared.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/ipp-2024-0089).

Received: 2024-07-17

Accepted: 2024-08-09

Published Online: 2024-09-05

Published in Print: 2024-11-26

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Supplementary Material

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ipp-2024-0089

Keywords for this article

polystyrene (PS); montmorillonite organoclay; modifier; clay; nanocomposites; gel permeation chromatography