Thermal and Barrier Properties of Organoclay-filled Polysulfone Nanocomposites

Abstract

Organo-modified fluorohectorite (OFH) clay-filled polysulfone (PSf) nanocomposites were prepared by a solution casting method. The dispersion of OFH clay in PSf nanocomposites was investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermal analysis revealed that incorporation of organoclay increased the thermal stability and glass transition temperature (T_g) of nanocomposites. The barrier properties of the nanocomposites studied were found to be significantly improved. It is worth mentioning that the improved thermal stability and barrier performance of these nanocomposites with the addition of organoclay in PSf matrix obviously offers immense potential in industrial and automobile applications.

Keywords:

• barrier performance
• nanocomposites
• organoclay
• polysulfone
• thermal analysis

Acknowledgments

Ajith James Jose acknowledges the scholarship grant in the “National Doctoral Fellowship” category by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, India. AICTE offer letter-F.No:1-10/RID/NDF-7/2009-10.