Preparation and mechanism of polystyrene-molybdenum disulfide intercalation materials by a modified two-step route

Polystyrene/molybdenum disulfide nanocomposites were prepared by means of a modified two-step in-situ anion polymerization of the intercalated styrene monomers. The nanocomposites were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, and scanning electron microscopy. Thus, the target nanocomposites were prepared at a greatly reduced reaction time using the modified synthetic route. This was characterized by a clean and straightforward intercalation of the interesting polymer monomers into the molybdenum disulfide host. The mechanism of the intercalation method was investigated and compared with the traditional exfoliation-restacked method as well.