Thermal and Thermo-oxidative Degradation of Flame Retardant High Impact Polystyrene with Triphenyl Phosphate and Novolac Epoxy Resin

Thermal and thermo-oxidative decomposition and decomposition kinetics of flame retardant high impact polystyrene （HIPS） with triphenyl phosphate （TPP） and novolac type epoxy resin （NE） were characterized using thermo-gravimetric experiment. And the flammability was determined by limited oxygen indices （LOI）. The LOI results show that TPP and NE had a good synthetic effect on the flame retardancy of HIPS. Compared with pure HIPS, the LOI values of HIPS/NE and HIPS/TPP only increased by about 5%, and the LOI value of HIPS/TPP/NE reached 42.3%, nearly 23% above that of HIPS. All materials showed one main decomposition step, as radical HIPS scission predominated during anaerobic decomposition. TPP increased the activity energy effectively while NE affected the thermal-oxidative degradation more with the help of the char formation. With both TPP and NE, the materials could have a comparable good result of both thermal and thermal-oxidative degradation, which could contribute to their effect on the flame retardancy.

FRACTAL CHARACTER OF PHASE MORPHOLOGY OF HIGH IMPACT POLYSTYRENE/POLY(cis-BUTADIENE) RUBBER BLENDS

Evolution and fractal character of the phase morphology of high impact polystyrene/poly（cis-butadiene） rubber （HIPS/PcBR） blends during melting and mixing were investigated using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The characteristic length L was defined as the size of particles of the dispersed phase in blends. Different fractal dimensions, Df and Din, were introduced to study the distribution width of phase dimensions in the dimensionless region and the uniformity of the spatial distribution of particles, respectively. The results showed that the average characteristic length Lm and Df increase as the volume fraction of the dispersed phase increases, when the volume fraction of the dispersed phase is lower than 50%. In other words, the size of particles increases and their distribution in the dimensionless region becomes more uniform. Meanwhile, the uniformity of the spatial distribution becomes more perfect as the volume fraction increases. At a certain composition, Lm decreases in the initial stage of the mixing and levels off in the late stage. In the initial stage, Df becomes large rapidly with the process of blending, which means that the distribution of L in the dimensionless region becomes more uniform. Meanwhile, the spatial distribution tends to be ideal rapidly in the early stage and fluctuates in a definite range in the late stage of the mixing.

Reinforcement of High Impact Polystyrene by Aramid Nanoparticle Fillers Prepared via an In situ Bottom-up Approach

In this work,aramid nanoparticles(ANPs)were prepared in dimethyl formamide(DMF)solution containing high impact polystyrene(HIPS)via a bottom-up approach.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)images showed that the obtained ANPs were evenly distributed in the HIPS matrix without any agglomeration.Chemical composition of the ANPs,i.e.,poly(p-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine)(PPTA),was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS)and X-ray diffractometer(XRD).The ANP/HIPS composites,obtained after ethanol precipitation,were added to neat HIPS as fillers to fabricate ANP/HIPS composite sheets.The surface roughness and the glass transition temperature(T_g)of the sheets were characterized by atomic force microscope(AFM)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),respectively.Compared with neat HIPS,the mechanical properties of the composite sheet were significantly improved,and the Young's modulus increased from 246.55 MPa to 2025.12 MPa,the tensile strength increased from 3.07 MPa to 29.76 MPa,and the toughness increased from 0.32 N/mm^2 to 3.92 N/mm^2,with an increase rate of 721%,869%and 1125%,respectively.Moreover,the thermal stability of the composites improved with the increase in ANP content.

Thermal Decomposition Kinetics of High Impact Polystyrene/ Organo Fe-montmorillonite Nanocomposites

In this article, high impact polystyrene/organo Fe-montmorillonite （HIPS/Fe-OMT） nanocomposites were prepared by melting intercalation. The thermal stability of HIPS/Fe-OMT nanocomposites increased significantly compared to that of HIPS examined in thermal degradation conditions. Kinetic evaluations were performed by Kissinger, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, Friedman methods and multivariate nonlinear regression. Apparent kinetic parameters for the overall degradation were determined. The resuRs showed that the activation energy of HIPS/Fe-OMT nanocomposites was higher than that of HIPS. A very good agreement between experimental and simulated curves was observed in dynamic conditions. Their decomposition reaction model was a single-step process of an nth-order reaction

Preparation and Mechanical Properties of HIPS Composites Containing PS-grafted-hydroxyapatite Particles

The surfaces of the micron- sized HA particles were modified by in situ copolymerization of vinyl triethoxyl silane （VIES） and styrene （ St ）. Then, the modified HA particles were compounded with HIPS. The results showed that the polystyrene （PS） macromolecules were grafted on the surfaces of HA particles during in situ copolymerization of VIES and St. Thereby, PS chains grafted on the HA surface enhance the compatibility between HA and HIPS, improve the dispersion of HA particles in HIPS matrix, and enhance the interfacial adhesion between HA and matrix. The stiffness, tensile strength and notch impact strength of HIPS/HA composites are improved at the same time. And there is a critical coating thickness of PS to the HA surface for the optimum mechani- cal properties of HIPS/HA composites.