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Thermal and thermo‐oxidative stability of thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites with arylated [60]fullerene derivatives
Author(s) -
Kokubo Ken,
Takahashi Ryo,
Kato Masaaki,
Harada Akio,
Noguchi Takeshi,
Oshima Takumi
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.23277
Subject(s) - fullerene , materials science , thermal stability , nanocomposite , polystyrene , phenol , polymer , chemical engineering , thermoplastic , polymer chemistry , methyl methacrylate , fullerene chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , copolymer , engineering
Nanocomposite films of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were prepared by loading four variations of fullerenes such as pristine C 60 , multiarylated [60]fullerenes with tolyl (tolyl‐C 60 ) and phenol groups (phenol‐C 60 ), and [6,6]‐phenyl‐C61‐butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The TGA analysis showed no appreciable change in their thermal and thermo‐oxidative stabilities for PS/tolyl‐C 60 and PS/phenol‐C 60 films, but significant improvement up to +45°C for PS/C 60 and PS/PCBM films even under air. The thermo‐oxidative stability of PMMA/phenol‐C 60 and PMMA/PCBM, however, exhibited slightly larger improvements over that of PMMA/C 60 . We believe that the radical‐scavenging ability of π‐conjugative fullerenes and the dispersibility of fullerene–polymer combinations play key roles in these enhancements. We also found that optimal loading occurred at a relatively low content of fullerenes (0.4–0.8 wt%) probably because larger amounts may interfere with the morphological interaction of polymer chains which is essential for the thermal persistency of polymer. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:1143–1151, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers