Kinetic study of the thermal degradation of PS/MMT nanocomposites preparedwith imidazolium surfactants

• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-007-8577-7
• Publication Date: 2008-06-13T19:06:10Z
• Authors: L. Abate; I. Blanco; F. A. Bottino; G. Di Pasquale; E. Fabbri; A. Orestano; A. Pollicino
• Keywords: Thermal Stability; Polystyrene; Exfoliation joint; Inert gas

Styrene and montmorillonite organically modified with imidazolium surfactants (MMT) at various alkyl chain lengths (C12, C16 and C18) were used to prepare the corresponding PS/MMT/C12, PS/MMT/C16 and PS/MMT/C18 nanocomposites by in situ polymerization. XRD and TEM analyses evidenced the formation of both intercalated and exfoliated structures. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of nanocomposites, as well as that of neat PS, were obtained by DSC measurements. The thermal degradations were carried out in the scanning mode, in both inert and oxidative environments, and the initial temperatures of decomposition (Ti) and the apparent activation energies of degradation (Ea) were determined. Due to an oxidative degradation mechanism, the Ti and Ea values in air atmosphere were lower than those under nitrogen.