Functionalization of MXene Nanosheets for Polystyrene towards High Thermal Stability and Flame Retardant Properties

Fabricating high-performance MXene-based polymer nanocomposites is a huge challenge because of the poor dispersion and interfacial interaction of MXene nanosheets in the polymer matrix. To address the issue, MXene nanosheets were successfully exfoliated and subsequently modified by long-chain cationic agents with different chain lengths, i.e., decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), octadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (OTAB), and dihexadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB). With the long-chain groups on their surface, modified Ti₃C₂ (MXene) nanosheets were well dispersed in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), resulting in the formation of uniform dispersion and strong interfacial adhesion within a polystyrene (PS) matrix. The thermal stability properties of cationic modified Ti₃C₂/PS nanocomposites were improved considerably with the temperatures at 5% weight loss increasing by 20 °C for DTAB-Ti₃C₂/PS, 25 °C for OTAB-Ti₃C₂/PS and 23 °C for DDAB-Ti₃C₂/PS, respectively. The modified MXene nanosheets also enhanced the flame-retardant properties of PS. Compared to neat PS, the peak heat release rate (PHRR) was reduced by approximately 26.4%, 21.5% and 20.8% for PS/OTAB-Ti₃C₂, PS/DDAB-Ti₃C₂ and PS/DTAB-Ti₃C₂, respectively. Significant reductions in CO and CO₂ productions were also obtained in the cone calorimeter test and generally lower pyrolysis volatile products were recorded by PS/OTAB-Ti₃C₂ compared to pristine PS. These property enhancements of PS nanocomposites are attributed to the superior dispersion, catalytic and barrier effects of Ti₃C₂ nanosheets.