Effect of silica nanoparticles on reinforcement of poly(phenylene ether) based thermoplastic elastomer.
Reinforcement of a novel poly(phenylene ether) (PPE) based thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), i.e., styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS)/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and PPE-polystyrene (PS), was studied to develop a reinforced thermoplastic elastomer or thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV). An effort was made to reinforce selectively the elastomeric dispersed phase of EVA by silica nanoparticles and silica sol-gel precursors, like alkoxy orthosilanes, using twin-screw extrusion and injection molding processes. Improvement of tensile strength and percent elongation at break was observed both with silica nanoparticles and tetraethoxy orthosilane (TEOS). Addition of TEOS transformed the dispersed EVA lamellar morphology into semispherical domains as a consequence of possible crosslinking. Soxhlet extraction was done on the silica and TEOS reinforced materials. The insoluble residues collected from both the silica and TEOS reinforced samples were analyzed in detail using both morphological and spectroscopic studies. This extensive study also provided an in-depth conceptual understanding of the PPE based TPE behavior upon reinforcement with silica nanoparticles and silica sol-gel precursors and the effect of reinforcement on recycling behavior.
GE India Technology Centre, EPIP Phase II, Whitefield Road, Bangalore 560066, India.
Samik
S
Gupta
Parnasree
P
Maiti
Kumar
K
Krishnamoorthy
Raja
R
Krishnamurthy
Ashok
A
Menon
Anil K
AK
Bhowmick
D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004548:Elasticity; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry*; D006244:Hardness; D006358:Hot Temperature; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties; D013718:Tensile Strength
D020724:Elastomers; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D010969:Plastics; D011108:Polymers; C473966:poly(phenylene ethynylene); D012822:Silicon Dioxide