IN-SITU ADDITION POLYMERISATION OF STYRENE USING NANOCLAY AND EVALUATION OF PROPERTIES

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites have emerged as an area of research in recent years. These nanocomposites exhibit significant improvement in their properties at lower filler content. Polystyrene is a highly commercially potential plastic. The main disadvantage of polystyrene is that it is brittle. To reduce its brittleness nanoclay is added in different proportions. There are different methods for the preparation of polystyrene clay nanocomposites. In this work, in-situ polymerization of styrene with the addition of nanoclay is envisaged. It is proposed to synthesize polystyrene clay nanocomposites with benzoyl peroxide as the initiator. The compatibility of the initiator and the monomer with clay surface was found to profoundly affect the clay dispersion. The effects of the amount of initiator, polymerising temperature and polymerising time on the conversion of styrene were investigated. The mechanical properties mainly impact strength were determined. Mechanical characterization of polystyrene composite was done by determining impact strength, flexural strength and flexural modulus. Study based on processability was also done. Morphological behavior of the composite was investigated using scanning electron microscopy of fracture surface of impact specimen. Thermal behaviour of composite was done using thermogravimetric analyser.()