Premium
Styrene–butadiene–styrene/montmorillonite nanocomposites synthesized by anionic polymerization
Author(s) -
Zhang Zhenjun,
Zhang Lina,
Li Yang,
Xu Hongde
Publication year - 2005
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.22768
Subject(s) - polybutadiene , montmorillonite , materials science , copolymer , nanocomposite , polystyrene , styrene , thermal stability , polymerization , polymer chemistry , dispersity , gel permeation chromatography , glass transition , dynamic mechanical analysis , composite material , chemical engineering , polymer , engineering
We successfully synthesized an exfoliated styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer (SBS)/montmorillonite nanocomposite by anionic polymerization. Gel permeation chromatography showed that the introduction of organophilic montmorillonite (OMMT) resulted in a small high‐molecular‐weight fraction of SBS in the composites, leading to a slight increase in the weight‐average and number‐average molecular weights as well as the polydispersity index. The results from 1 H‐NMR revealed that the introduction of OMMT almost did not affect the microstructure of the copolymer when the OMMT concentration was lower than 4 wt %. Transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction showed a completely exfoliated nanocomposite, in which both polystyrene and polybutadiene blocks entered the OMMT galleries, leading to the dispersion of OMMT layers on a nanoscale. The exfoliated nanocomposite exhibited higher thermal stability, glass‐transition temperature, elongation at break, and storage modulus than pure SBS. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2006