Effect of Particle Surface Treatment on Melt Rheology of PS/Silica Nanocomposites

Polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) are a technologically important class of materials. The properties of PNCs are sensitive to their micro structural features, which are generallydifficult to control, largely due to a complex interplay of entropic and enthalpic interactions that determine the spatialdistribution of nanoparticles(1,2). Because of the strong interparticle hydrogen bonds between hydroxyl groups, agglomerates of silica appear(3). One successful strategy thathas been used to control the phase behavior of these systems is to graft chains or hydrocarbon group onto the nanoparticle surfaces. Rheology is a way generally used to assess the state of dispersion of nanocomposites directly in the melt state(4).