A reactive polystyrene-block-polyisoprene star copolymer as a toughening agent in an epoxy thermoset

Raju Francis, Deepa K. Baby

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg A polystyrene-block-polyisoprene ((PS-b-PI)3) star polymer was synthesized by photochemical reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The obtained star polymer was epoxidized and used as a toughening agent in an epoxy thermoset. The incorporation of the epoxidized star polymer resulted in the formation of nanostructures and it was fixed by a crosslinking reaction. The formation of nanostructures in the thermosets follows the mechanism of reaction-induced microphase separation. The mechanical properties such as toughness and tensile strength were considerably increased due to the nanostructures formed by reactive blending.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)565-574
Number of pages10
JournalColloid and Polymer Science
Volume294
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 29 2015
Externally publishedYes

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