Effect of the Structure of Clay Modifier on the Properties of Polystyrene/Clay Nanocomposites Prepared by In-situ Suspension Polymerization

In recent years, polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites have attracted great interest, both in industry and academia, because they often exhibit remarkable improvement in materialsproperties e.g. thermal and mechanical properties, improved barrier properties and reduced flammability when comparedwith virgin polymer or conventional micro- and macrocomposites [1]. Although considerable attention has been paid to in-situ intercalative polymerizations, there are only fewreports on preparation of polymer/clay nanocomposites via insitu suspension polymerization [2]. In the present study, theeffect of the number of alkyl chains with the same length which are present in the modifier molecule structure, on theproperties of the resulting PS/Clay nanocomposites prepared by in-situ intercalative suspension polymerization is investigated