Thermal and thermo‐oxidative stability of thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites with arylated [60]fullerene derivatives

Nanocomposite films of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were prepared by loading four variations of fullerenes such as pristine C-60, multiarylated [60]fullerenes with tolyl (tolyl-C-60) and phenol groups (phenol-C-60), and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The TGA analysis showed no appreciable change in their thermal and thermooxidative stabilities for PS/tolyl-C-60 and PS/phenol-C-60 films, but significant improvement up to 145 degrees C for PS/C-60 and PS/PCBM films even under air. The thermooxidative stability of PMMA/phenol-C-60 and PMMA/PCBM, however, exhibited slightly larger improvements over that of PMMA/C-60. We believe that the radical-scavenging ability of p-conjugative fullerenes and the dispersibility of fullerene-polymer combinations play key roles in these enhancements. We also found that optimal loading occurred at a relatively low content of fullerenes (0.4-0.8 wt%) probably because larger amounts may interfere with the morphological interaction of polymer chains which is essential for the thermal persistency of polymer. (C) 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers