Micro-Composites of Poly(styrene) and Nylon 3 by in-situ Polymerization

The in-situ polymerization of acrylamide in solutions of poly(styrene) (PSt) was carried out by anionic polymerization to form Nylon 3 in PSt as micro-composites in which Nylon 3 was dispersed as fine particles. Copolymers of styrene (St) and 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPy) were used as matrix polymers in order to improve a compatibility between the in-situ formed Nylon 3 and matrix polymer through hydrogen-bonding. These micro-composites showed great improvement of mechanical properties owing to reinforcement by ultra-fine particles of Nylon 3. Especially, the micro-composite derived from poly(St-co-4-VPy) showed excellent improvements of mechanical properties owing to the hydrogen bonding interactions between Nylon 3 and 4-VPy.