Polysulfone blends and nanocomposites

Recent research and development in the field of polymer nanocomposites has led to the production of materials with high performance characteristics. Polysulfone is an engineering thermoplastic with wide range of industrial applications. Furthermore, high resistance to beta, Gamma, IR and X ray radiations and bioinertness of PSf extends its application to bone implantation. Though polysulfone exhibit a better range of characteristic properties, still some more improvements is needed in properties, such as toughness, tensile strength, hydrophobicity, solvent resistance, bioactivity, to enable them to find a place in high performance engineering and biomedical applications. The incorporation of nanoprecursors is expected to improve mechanical, thermal, barrier and hydrophobic properties. Therefore, PSf nanocomposites with organomodified fluorohectorite clay and chemically modified graphene nanoplatelets have been developed, and characterized to investigate the improvement in material properties. PSf nanocomposites using stearic acid modified hydroxyapatite have been prepared to obtain cost effective bone implants with improved biocompatibility and thermo-mechanical properties.