Effect of poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) compatibilizer on properties of polystyrene/zinc oxide composites

The effects of polystyrene-co-maleic anhydride (SMA) compatibilizer on mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of polystyrene (PS)/zinc oxide (ZnO) composites were investigated for the first time in this study. PS/ZnO composites were prepared using a twin screw extruder and were then molded by compression method. In order to improve adhesion between filler and matrix, SMA compatibilizer is used in the composites. Tensile strength and Young??s modulus were increased with increasing ZnO and SMA at low concentration, but they were decreased with increasing high concentrations of ZnO and SMA content. Thus, mechanical properties can be enhanced in the composites with SMA compatibilizer. Moreover due to the effect of particle size, 250?nm ZnO particles (ZnO250) improved the mechanical properties of PS more than 71?nm ZnO particles (ZnO71) due to the increased aggregation of latter particles. Glass transition temperatures were not significantly changed when both ZnO and SMA were incorporated. Degradation temperatures of the composites increased with the addition of ZnO particles compared with neat PS and slightly decreased with the incorporation of SMA compared with the nascent composite. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed the better dispersion and compatibility of ZnO particles in PS/ZnO composites with the addition of SMA especially at the content of 3?wt%.