Polystyrene‐modified novolac epoxy resin/clay nanocomposite: Synthesis, and characterization

Abstract

A polystyrene‐modified epoxidized novolac resin/montmorillonite nanocomposite was fabricated and characterized successfully. For this purpose, novolac resin (NR) was epoxidized through the reaction of phenolic hydroxyl group with epichlorohydrin in super basic medium to produce epoxidized novolac resin (ENR). Afterward, a polystyrene was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique, and then brominated at the benzylic positions using N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS). The brominated polystyrene (PSt‐Br) was reacted with ethanolamine in basic medium in order to afford an amine‐functionalized polystyrene (PSt‐NH2). An organo‐modified montmorillonite (O‐MMT) was synthesized through the treatment of MMT with hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride salt. Finally, ENR‐PSt/MMT nanocomposite was fabricated through curing a mixture of ENR (70 wt.%) and O‐MMT (5 wt.%) with PSt‐NH2 (25 wt.%). Transition electron microscopy (TEM) and powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the fabricated nanocomposite has an exfoliated structure. Thermal property studies using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the curing of ENR by PSt‐NH2, as well as incorporation of a small amount of MMT have synergistic effect on the thermal stability of the ENR resin.

Recent advances in metal-family flame retardants: a review

“…And a lot of smoke and toxic gases will be released when a re breaks out. [14][15][16] Halogen-based ame retardants are increasingly being phased out due to the rising demand for environmental protection. There is a preference for more environmentally friendly non-halogen ame retardants, 17,18 such as phosphorus and nitrogen-based.…”

Exfoliated Poly (styrene-co-urethane) Grafted - Polymethylmethacrylate /Layered Double Hydroxide Nanocomposite Synthesized by Metal Catalyzed Living Radical Polymerization and Solvent Blending Method

“…Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of the graft copolymers are completely different from blends of the same corresponding homopolymers [17,18]. From this conceptual point of view, reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP; which is communally known as 'living' or controlled radical polymerization) approaches including NMP (Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization), RAFT (Reversible Addition of Fragmentation Chain Transfer), and ATRP (Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization), have been extended as important and essential approaches for the synthesizing of graft copolymers with complex macromolecular architectures, narrow dispersity and controlled molecular weight [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. Among these, ATRP is an efficient and promising strategy due to its accurately controlling of the molecular weight, low dispersity and well-defined macromolecular architecture, as well as variety of a great chain end-functionalities.…”

Manufacturing and Evaluation of Mechanical, Morphological, and Thermal Properties of Reduced Graphene Oxide-Reinforced Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) Nanocomposites

“…Amorphous polystyrene (PS) is a transparent material characterized by good tensile strength, up to 60 MPa, low impact strength, 2 kJ/m 2 , medium hardness, and good dielectric properties, breakdown voltage up to 65 kV/mm [1,2]. It is resistant to acids (excluding concentrated and oxidizing), alcohols, alkalis, fats, and oils, making it a good material for a number of commodity applications [3,4].…”