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High-impact polystyrene/halloysite nanocomposites prepared by emulsion polymerization using sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant

  • Yong Lin
  • , Kai Mo Ng
  • , Chi Ming Chan*
  • , Guoxing Sun
  • , Jingshen Wu
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Articlepeer-review

Abstract

High-impact polystyrene (PS) nanocomposites filled with individually dispersed halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were prepared by emulsion polymerization of styrene in the presence of HNTs with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as the emulsifier. The SDS is a good dispersing agent for HNTs in aqueous solution. The emulsion polymerization resulted in the formation of polystyrene nanospheres separating individual HNTs. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the HNTs were uniformly dispersed in the PS matrix. Differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry were used to characterize the PS/HNT nanocomposites. The impact strength of the PS/HNTs nanocomposites was 300% higher than that of the neat PS. This paper presents a simple yet feasible method for the preparation of high-impact PS/halloysite nanocomposites.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)423-429
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Colloid and Interface Science
Volume358
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jun 2011

Keywords

  • Halloysite
  • Impact strength
  • Microemulsion polymerization
  • Polystyrene

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