Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5185281 | Polymer | 2008 | 9 Pages |
The nascent morphology of semi-crystalline syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) polymerized over silica-supported pentamethyl cyclopentadienyl titanium trimethoxide (CpâTi(OCH3)3) catalyst in a liquid slurry polymerization has been investigated under various reaction conditions. The scanning electron microscopic analysis of nascent polymers reveals that sPS molecules grow as long nanofibrils of 30-50Â nm diameter and X-ray diffraction analysis shows the co-crystalline phases including both sPS and low molecular weight guest molecules of monomer and diluent. The energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy also shows that the disintegration of silica primary particles occurs during the polymerization as evidenced by the uniform dispersion of silicon and aluminum in a polymer particle. The fibrous growth of the polymer inside a polymer particle leads to the shape replication of the original silica particles.
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