Poly(styrene--cinnamic acid) (SCA), an approach to modified polystyrene with enhanced impact toughness, heat resistance and melt strength

A poly(styrene- ran -cinnamic acid) (SCA) containing 6.8 mol% of CA, with a M&cmb.macr; w (∼217 000) comparable to commercial polystyrene (PS), was successfully synthesised via emulsion free-radical copolymerisation as evidenced by 1744 and 1703 cm −1 infrared peak occurrences, respectively char...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:RSC advances 2019-12, Vol.9 (68), p.39631-39639
Main Authors: Wang, Jie, Yu, Zixin, Li, Peihua, Ding, Dachuan, Zheng, Xuan, Hu, Chuanqun, Hu, Tao, Gong, Xinghou, Chang, Ying, Wu, Chonggang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical synthesis
Chemistry
Cinnamic acid
Copolymerization
Crosslinking
Heat resistance
Hydrogen bonds
Impact resistance
Impact strength
Polystyrene resins
Styrenes
Styrofoam
Thermal resistance
Thermal stability
Toughness
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Summary:A poly(styrene- ran -cinnamic acid) (SCA) containing 6.8 mol% of CA, with a M&cmb.macr; w (∼217 000) comparable to commercial polystyrene (PS), was successfully synthesised via emulsion free-radical copolymerisation as evidenced by 1744 and 1703 cm −1 infrared peak occurrences, respectively characteristic of free and dimeric carboxyl C&z.dbd;O stretches. Upon the interchain hydrogen bond cross-linking by CA, the impact toughness of the SCA was considerably improved by 47.2% against PS, the glass transition, heat deflection and Vicat softening temperatures were significantly enhanced until 117.0, 108.0 and 118.3 °C, respectively, compared with PS (95.2, 87.6 and 96.0 °C), while the extensional viscosities were near one order-of-magnitude higher than PS by which the temperature window required for appropriate melt-strengths would be greatly broadened. Meanwhile, the SCA displayed other properties basically analogous to PS. This work presents a modified PS, SCA, with enhanced toughness, heat resistance and melt strength that potentially extend its styrofoam and commodity applications. Carboxyl-bearing cinnamic-acid copolymerised polystyrene exhibits enhanced impact toughness, heat resistance and melt strength due to its reversible hydrogen bond cross-linking.
ISSN:2046-2069
2046-2069
DOI:10.1039/c9ra08635h