Significant enhancement of the physical and mechanical property of polymeric materials is achieved with the addition of nanofiller content at low loadings. When determining composite formation, the geometry of the nanofiller is usually preferentially considered; whereas the chain orientation of the matrix is commonly neglected. This study uses a combination of theoretical and experimental methods to investigate how nanostructures such as single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT), change the dynamics of polystyrene with respect to its stereoregularity. SWNT/polymer complex formation is depicted with matrix type �A�. Further addition of   nanotube content to the type �A� matrix results in aggregation of the nanotubes referred to as matrix type �B�. Matrix type �C� is due to inadequate interaction of the nanostructures with the host material. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) shows that isotactic polystyrene is most suitable to solubilize the SWNT in the host polymer in that it has the most favorable interaction with the SWNT nanoparticle or nanofiller when compared to that of its atactic and syndiotactic counterparts. Solution NMR spectroscopy and solid state 13C T1? measurements support the DSC results and suggest that the isotactic polymer is most effective in interacting with the SWNT. The SWNT is well-dispersed in the nanocomposite matrix. Our study demonstrates the feasibility to improve the interaction of the host polymer with the nanofillers by small three-dimensional structural changes.

Role of polymer stereoregularity on nanocomposites of polystyrene with single-walled carbon nanotubes

247th National Meeting (2014)

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