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 C60, multiarylated [60]fullerenes with tolyl (tolyl-C60) and phenol groups (phenol-C60), and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The TGA analysis showed no appreciable change in their thermal and thermo-oxidative stabilities for PS/tolyl-C60 and PS/phenol-C60 films, but significant improvement up to +45°C for PS/C60 and PS/PCBM films even under air. The thermo-oxidative stability of PMMA/phenol-C60 and PMMA/PCBM, however, exhibited slightly larger improvements over that of PMMA/C60. We believe that the radical-scavenging ability of π-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. POLYM. COMPOS., 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers