Polymer/clay nanocomposites are potential materials with attractive properties such as improved stiffness, dimensional stability, barrier resistance, thermal stability and flame retardency. Many researches have focused on the property improvement of t...
Polymer/clay nanocomposites are potential materials with attractive properties such as improved stiffness, dimensional stability, barrier resistance, thermal stability and flame retardency. Many researches have focused on the property improvement of thermoplastics such as polystyrene with organically modified layered silicates, but open literatures have not been yet found on the rubber-toughened polystyrene by the author's knowledge. High impact polystyrene (HIPS) is known as the rubber-toughened polystyrene to improve the impact strength and toughness of glassy polystyrene. Current research issues of HIPS include high performance HIPS such as glossy, transparent, chemical-resistant, high strength and flame-retardant grades. Naturally, the introduction of clay would be one of good candidates to achieve these purposes. In this study, the preparation of HIPS/organically modified layered silicate nanocomposites by in situ polymerization is presented and the characterization techniques of the material are also discussed. Major attention will be focused on the dispersion of silicate layer and the change in rubber particle size affected by the clay loading.