Comparison of the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Poly(phenylene sulfide) and Poly(phenylene sulfide)-Syndiotactic Polystyrene-Based Thermal Conductive Composites

Syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS) has attracted considerable attention recently due to its high melting temperature, low cost, and relatively low density value. The aim of the study is to reveal whether a blend of PPS and SPS (PPS-SPS) can be used instead of PPS for high thermal stability, high mechanical performance, and high thermal conductive material applications. For this aim, poly(phenylene sulfide)/syndiotactic polystyrene-based carbon-loaded composite materials were prepared using a twin screw extruder. Two carbon based materials, carbon fiber (CF) and synthetic graphite (SG), were used to improve the mechanical properties and thermal conductivity of the PPS-SPS blends. Through-plane conductivity values of PPS-30SG-10CF and PPS-SPS-30SG-10CF were obtained to be 13.67 and 12.92 W/mK, with densities of 1.55 and 1.50 g/cm3, respectively. It was demonstrated that PPS-SPS blend-based carbon-loaded composites have great potential to be used in thermal management applications with the advantages of relatively low cost and lightweight compared to PPS-based composites.