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Further studies on polystyrene/cerium (IV) oxide system: melt blending and interaction with montmorillonite
Author(s) -
Cai Guipeng,
Xu Shaorong,
Wang Zhengzhou,
Wilkie Charles A.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.3226
Subject(s) - microscale chemistry , materials science , polystyrene , cerium oxide , organoclay , oxide , chemical engineering , composite material , nanoscopic scale , polymer , montmorillonite , thermal stability , nanocomposite , nanotechnology , metallurgy , mathematics education , mathematics , engineering
In order to clarify questions raised from a recent study on the polymer/cerium (IV) oxide (CeO 2 ) system, polystyrene/CeO 2 was prepared by melt blending, which produces only microscale dispersed CeO 2 . The incorporation of CeO 2 moderately enhances the thermal stability of the composites. Because of the limited surface area of microscale CeO 2 particles compared with nanoscale particles, the microscale dispersed CeO 2 induces negligible peak heat release rate reduction in cone calorimetry. Combination of CeO 2 with organoclay does not show any advantages with either microdispersion of nanodispersion of CeO 2 in polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate matrices. In summary, the nanodispersion (i.e. surface area) of CeO 2 particles is a critical factor in fire retardancy of the composites. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.