Preparation of Polystyrene-Aluminum Nanoparticles Composite by Dispersion Polymerization

Polystyrene (PS)-aluminum nanoparticles (AlNPs) composite with a high doping level and a low molecular weight distribution was prepared via dispersion polymerization, and characterized by TEM, SEM, XRD, FT-IR, GPC, and TGA. Results show that the composite is spherical with an AlNPs doping level up to 1.81% and an average particle size of about 1.5 μm. Crystal structure of AlNPs is not changed during the polymerization reaction. The average molecular weight of PS matrix is 1.98×105 with a molecular weight distribution of 1.21, and the composite has a good thermo-stability.