Polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-r-butylene)b-polystyrene triblock copolymer/organoclay nanocomposites and their phase characteristics

Intercalated polymer/clay nanocomposites were prepared using a polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-r-butylene)-b-polystyrene (SEBS) cylindrical triblock copolymer. Dynamic rheological measurements, x-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) were conducted to investigate the internal structure and physical and phase characteristics of the nanocomposites. The XRD data confirmed that the interlayer distance between the anisotropic silicates increased due to the intercalation of SEBS into the clay interlayers. As the clay loading increased, the onset points of the order-disorder transition (ODT) and order-order transition (OOT) were found to decrease, whereas the thermal decomposition temperatures, monitored by TGA, increased with the clay loading.