No abstract

A self‐assembly phenomenon in an extruded polystyrene/clay nanocomposite sample is observed during a temperature increase process. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and infrared dichroism techniques have been employed to investigate the self‐assembly phenomenon. The results show that in the self‐assembly structure the montmorillonite primary particles orient parallel, and the phenyl rings of the polystyrene align perpendicular to the primary particles, whereas no obvious orientation of the aliphatic chain was observed.

ABSTRACT:We carried out a scanning electron microscopy study to investigate the morphology of a polystyrene (PS)/montmorillonite nanocomposite. Monodispersed spherical particles, about 200 nm in diameter, were observed when PS/montmorillonite powder was dispersed in water, whereas planar silicate sheets were found for cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-exchange montmorillonite. The fracture surface of a PS/ clay nanocomposite pellet sample showed a lot of fibrils rather than the smooth surface of a pure PS pellet. After the PS/clay nanocomposite pellet was chemically etched, flaky montmorillonite particles were homogeneously dispersed in the PS matrix. A film sample, prepared by the pressing of the PS/clay nanocomposite melt, revealed that the montmorillonite primary particles oriented parallel to the surface, and the corresponding X-ray diffraction distribution map of silicon atoms confirmed that the dispersed particles were montmorillonite primary particles.