New Nanocomposites Based on Syndiotactic Polystyrene and Organo-Modified ZnAl Layered Double Hydroxide

New nanocomposites were prepared by mixing syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) with organo-modified ZnAl layered double hydroxide (O-ZnAl-LDH) in toluene solution. Both wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examinations confirmed the nanocomposite formation with exfoliated or intercalated O-ZnAl-LDH distributed in the sPS matrix. Meanwhile, the nonisothermal crystallization behavior of the resulting nanocomposites was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique at various cooling rates. The results indicated that the O-ZnAl-LDH particles in nanometer size might act as nucleating agents and accelerate the overall nonisothermal crystallization process.