Effect of amorphous precipitated silica on the properties and structure of poly(p-phenylene sulfide)

Using a precipitation technique, silicas were obtained from sodium metasilicate solution employing an acidic agent. Alcohol solutions were used in the process of production of highly dispersed silicas, which resulted in partial blocking of the silica surface silanol groups. Moreover, studies on morphology and microstructure using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were performed. The size distributions of primary particles and aggregate and agglomerate structures were determined using a ZetaPlus instrument using the dynamic light scattering method. The structure and molecular dynamics of the nanocomposite, consisting of poly (p-phenylene sulfide) (PPS) and of the precipitated silica, were studied using atomic force microscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. It was proved that during annealing the fragmentation of PPS agglomerates takes place. This phenomena probably resulted from repulsion forces existing between agglomerates and aggregates. Fragmentation in the polymer network probably resulted from repulsion forces between agglomerates and smaller aggregates. Received: 7 November 2000 Accepted: 5 April 2001