title: Synthesis and characterization of exfoliated polystyrene/ZnAl layered double hydroxide nanocomposite via emulsion polymerization.
abstract: Exfoliated polystyrene (PS)/ZnAl layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites have been synthesized via emulsion polymerization in the presence of N-lauroyl-glutamate surfactants and long-chain n-hexadecane. The samples were characterized using elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The XRD and TEM results demonstrate that the exfoliated ZnAl-LDH layers of 50-70 nm width and about 1 nm thickness were well dispersed at molecular level in the PS matrix. And the completely exfoliated PS/LDH nanocomposites can be obtained even at the 10 wt% LDH loading. When the 50% weight loss was selected as a comparison point, the decomposition temperature of exfoliated PS/LDH sample with 5 wt% LDH was ca. 28 degrees C higher than that of pure PS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Baojun
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qu