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Thermo‐mechanical behavior of poly(butylene terephthalate)/silica nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Russo P.,
Costantini A.,
Luciani G.,
Tescione F.,
Lavorgna M.,
Branda F.,
Silvestri B.
Publication year - 2018
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.46006
Subject(s) - fumed silica , materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , nanocomposite , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , dynamic mechanical analysis , composite material , scanning electron microscope , glass transition , thermogravimetric analysis , polymer , chemical engineering , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
In this work, experimental results about poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) based nanocomposites filled with various amounts of silica nanoparticles (NPs) are reported. Two different types of filler are used: silica gel NPs, produced through the Stöber method, and a commercial fumed silica, both coated by a PBT shell. Melt‐mixed samples have been thoroughly investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, wide and small angle X‐ray diffraction, and dynamic mechanical analysis. A fine and very good dispersion of NPs into the polymeric matrix is revealed through the morphological analysis when Stöber NPs were used as filler with respect to systems including commercial fumed silica particles. This evidence, combined with matrix–filler interactions revealed by FTIR spectroscopy, justifies the enhancement of both storage modulus and glass transition temperature of the former samples in comparison with reference pristine PBT. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 46006.