Novel High Temperature Styrenic TPE Nanocomposites

Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) are a unique class of polymers that has attracted much interest for scientific research and commercial material development. Styrenic TPE copolymers, like poly(styrene-bbutadiene-b-styrene) and poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) (SIBS) have inherently limited service temperature and poor creep resistance, but SIBS with a dendritic core (D_SIBS) was found to have improved creep resistance. This paper specifically studies the thermal properties of SIBS and D_SIBS polymers reinforced with organophilic montmorillonite clays (Cloisite-20A) via solution blending, and carbon black (N234) via melt intercalation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to examine the degree of filler dispersion in the TPE matrix. Results from differential scanning calorimetry, TEM imaging, and tensile testing of these polymer-filler composites will be presented to assess the change of thermal and mechanical performance of these novel nanocomposites.