Influence of montmorillonite nano-dispersion on polystyrene photo-oxidation

UV photo-oxidative degradation of polystyrene/montmorillonite nanocomposites (PS/o-MMTs) and microcomposite (PS/Na/MMT), obtained via in situ bulk polymerization, has been studied in accelerated conditions. Imidazolium or standard alkylammonium surfactants were used to modify MMT. The chemical modification resulting from photo-oxidation has been followed using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The rate of photo-oxidation of PS/o-MMT and PS/Na/MMT was faster than that of pristine PS. The results suggest that the photo-oxidative instability could be related to the degree of exfoliation and then to the presence of catalytic active sites on the MMT layer surface.