Sonication-assisted synthesis of polystyrene (PS)/organoclay nanocomposites: influence of clay content

This article presents the synthesis of a series of polystyrene (PS)/organoclay nanocomposite films consisting of different contents of clay (1–7 wt%) by sonication-coupled solvent-blending technique. The prepared PS nanocomposite films were characterized using various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The XRD and TEM results revealed the formation of exfoliated nanocomposites at lower loading of organoclay (<5 wt%). The presence of various functional groups in the organoclay and PS/organoclay nanocomposite was verified by FTIR spectra. The thermal stability of PS nanocomposites was significantly improved as compared to pristine PS, which is evident from TGA analysis. When 10% mass loss was chosen as a point of reference, the thermal degradation temperature of PS nanocomposite holding 7 wt% of organoclay was found to be 30 °C more over pristine PS. The thermal kinetic parameters such as activation energy (Ea), pre-exponential factor (A), and the order of reaction (n) were determined by employing the Coats–Redfern model. Thermal degradation reaction mechanism of PS nanocomposites was also investigated.