Novel exfoliated graphite nanoplates/syndiotactic polystyrene composites prepared by solution-blending

He, F.-A., Wu, H.-J., Yang, X.-L., Lam, K.-H. , Fan, J.-T. and Chan, L.-W. H. (2015) Novel exfoliated graphite nanoplates/syndiotactic polystyrene composites prepared by solution-blending. Polymer Testing, 42, pp. 45-53. (doi: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2015.01.002)

Abstract

Novel exfoliated graphite nanoplates (xGNPs)/syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) composites were prepared by a simple and effective solution-blending method. The uniform dispersion of xGNPs in sPS matrix was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. The effect of xGNPs on sPS crystallization behavior was investigated by wide angle X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that the existence of xGNPs increased the crystallization ability of sPS and facilitated the formation of the β phase crystalline structure. By adding 10 wt.% of xGNPs, the increase in the onset degradation temperature of the xGNPs/sPS composite could reach 12°C. The AC electrical conductivity at 1000 Hz increased from 3.8 × 10−10 S/m for neat sPS to 2.25 × 10−4 S/m for xGNPs/sPS composite containing 2.93 vol.% of xGNPs. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of the xGNPs/sPS composite containing 8.26 vol.% has been significantly improved from 0.21 to 1.63 W/m·K when compared with that of pure sPS.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Lam, Dr Koko
• Authors: He, F.-A., Wu, H.-J., Yang, X.-L., Lam, K.-H., Fan, J.-T., and Chan, L.-W. H.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Journal Name: Polymer Testing
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 0142-9418