The goal of this thesis was to define the structural factors that determine performance in clay/rubber nanocomposites when polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is used as a dispersant. POSS has been shown previously to enhance clay, metal oxides, and carbon nanotube dispersion in thermoplastics matrices, but their performance in rubber systems has not yet been explored. There is little fundamental understanding of how POSS interacts with clay and how these modified fillers react with rubber matrices. This thesis aims to develop a greater understanding of the mechanisms of POSS-clay modification through the examination of two different POSS-clay systems and their effect on rubber matrices with varying functional groups. In this thesis, an amino-based, closed cage POSS and an open-caged trisilanol POSS were used as modifiers of montmorillonite clay. A commercially avai lable, organically modified clay was used as a control. These fillers were studied as a function of loading level in a hydrogenated nitri le butadiene rubber and a styrene butadiene rubber matrix. Both POSS systems successfully grafted onto the clay particles; however, the closed cage POSS produced an expanded interlayer spacing. The open cage POSS produced small particles with an increased surface area. When introduced into rubber matrices, both POSS-modified clay systems produced nanocomposites with improved properties. The trisilanolphenyl POSS-clay filler provided a 7°C increase in degradation temperature, 136% increase in tensile modulus and an 800% improvement in storage modulus. Differences in performance are attributed to the cage structure, functional groups, and chemical and physical interactions of POSS with the rubber molecules.
","abstract_html":"<p>The goal of this thesis was to define the structural factors that determine performance in clay/rubber nanocomposites when polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is used as a dispersant. POSS has been shown previously to enhance clay, metal oxides, and carbon nanotube dispersion in thermoplastics matrices, but their performance in rubber systems has not yet been explored. There is little fundamental understanding of how POSS interacts with clay and how these modified fillers react with rubber matrices. This thesis aims to develop a greater understanding of the mechanisms of POSS-clay modification through the examination of two different POSS-clay systems and their effect on rubber matrices with varying functional groups. In this thesis, an amino-based, closed cage POSS and an open-caged trisilanol POSS were used as modifiers of montmorillonite clay. A commercially avai lable, organically modified clay was used as a control. These fillers were studied as a function of loading level in a hydrogenated nitri le butadiene rubber and a styrene butadiene rubber matrix. Both POSS systems successfully grafted onto the clay particles; however, the closed cage POSS produced an expanded interlayer spacing. The open cage POSS produced small particles with an increased surface area. When introduced into rubber matrices, both POSS-modified clay systems produced nanocomposites with improved properties. The trisilanolphenyl POSS-clay filler provided a 7°C increase in degradation temperature, 136% increase in tensile modulus and an 800% improvement in storage modulus. Differences in performance are attributed to the cage structure, functional groups, and chemical and physical interactions of POSS with the rubber molecules.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lewis, Elana Celeste"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Polymers and High Performance Materials","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sarah Morgan","Robson Storey","Robert Lochhead"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:58Z","subjects":["Chemistry","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Polymer Chemistry"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/390","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sarah Morgan","Robson Storey","Robert Lochhead"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lewis, Elana Celeste"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-10-25T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Polymers and High Performance Materials"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Chemistry","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Polymer Chemistry"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/390"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The goal of this thesis was to define the structural factors that determine performance in clay/rubber nanocomposites when polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is used as a dispersant. POSS has been shown previously to enhance clay, metal oxides, and carbon nanotube dispersion in thermoplastics matrices, but their performance in rubber systems has not yet been explored. There is little fundamental understanding of how POSS interacts with clay and how these modified fillers react with rubber matrices. This thesis aims to develop a greater understanding of the mechanisms of POSS-clay modification through the examination of two different POSS-clay systems and their effect on rubber matrices with varying functional groups. In this thesis, an amino-based, closed cage POSS and an open-caged trisilanol POSS were used as modifiers of montmorillonite clay. A commercially avai lable, organically modified clay was used as a control. These fillers were studied as a function of loading level in a hydrogenated nitri le butadiene rubber and a styrene butadiene rubber matrix. Both POSS systems successfully grafted onto the clay particles; however, the closed cage POSS produced an expanded interlayer spacing. The open cage POSS produced small particles with an increased surface area. When introduced into rubber matrices, both POSS-modified clay systems produced nanocomposites with improved properties. The trisilanolphenyl POSS-clay filler provided a 7°C increase in degradation temperature, 136% increase in tensile modulus and an 800% improvement in storage modulus. Differences in performance are attributed to the cage structure, functional groups, and chemical and physical interactions of POSS with the rubber molecules.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of POSS Modified Montmorillonite On Elastomer Nanocomposites"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sarah Morgan","Robson Storey","Robert Lochhead"],"dc:creator":["Lewis, Elana Celeste"],"dc:date.available":["2018-10-25T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The goal of this thesis was to define the structural factors that determine performance in clay/rubber nanocomposites when polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is used as a dispersant. POSS has been shown previously to enhance clay, metal oxides, and carbon nanotube dispersion in thermoplastics matrices, but their performance in rubber systems has not yet been explored. There is little fundamental understanding of how POSS interacts with clay and how these modified fillers react with rubber matrices. This thesis aims to develop a greater understanding of the mechanisms of POSS-clay modification through the examination of two different POSS-clay systems and their effect on rubber matrices with varying functional groups. In this thesis, an amino-based, closed cage POSS and an open-caged trisilanol POSS were used as modifiers of montmorillonite clay. A commercially avai lable, organically modified clay was used as a control. These fillers were studied as a function of loading level in a hydrogenated nitri le butadiene rubber and a styrene butadiene rubber matrix. Both POSS systems successfully grafted onto the clay particles; however, the closed cage POSS produced an expanded interlayer spacing. The open cage POSS produced small particles with an increased surface area. When introduced into rubber matrices, both POSS-modified clay systems produced nanocomposites with improved properties. The trisilanolphenyl POSS-clay filler provided a 7°C increase in degradation temperature, 136% increase in tensile modulus and an 800% improvement in storage modulus. Differences in performance are attributed to the cage structure, functional groups, and chemical and physical interactions of POSS with the rubber molecules.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/390"],"dc:subject":["Chemistry","Physical Sciences and Mathematics","Polymer Chemistry"],"dc:title":["The Effect of POSS Modified Montmorillonite On Elastomer Nanocomposites"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Polymers and High Performance Materials"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:58Z"}