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Structural modification of expandable polystyrene. I. Copolymerization with α‐methylstyrene
Author(s) -
Taşkiran Isa,
Sunal Gürkan,
Erbay Erol,
Uyanik Nurseli
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.12392
Subject(s) - polystyrene , differential scanning calorimetry , copolymer , glass transition , gel permeation chromatography , materials science , scanning electron microscope , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer , composite material , thermodynamics , physics , engineering
Conventional expandable polystyrene (EPS) was modified by the preparation of copolymers containing 1.0, 2.5, and 5.0% α‐methylstyrene. Increasing the glass‐transition temperature of EPS was the aim of this work. Copolymeric expandable polystyrene (CEPS) samples were characterized with various techniques. 1 H‐NMR spectroscopy was used for the determination of the composition, and gel permeation chromatography was used for the determination of the molecular weights and molecular weight distributions. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the glass‐transition temperatures of the CEPS samples increased with increasing α‐methylstyrene contents. The prevention of the collapse of the EPS cells was observed in scanning electron microscopy images of the inner portions and outer surfaces of the CEPS samples. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 609–614, 2003