| Affiliation: | 1. Key Lab of Rubber–Plastics, Ministry of Education, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, People's Republic of China
Polymer BIN Fusion Research Team, School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Duckjin-Dong 1Ga 664-14, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea;2. Key Lab of Rubber–Plastics, Ministry of Education, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266042, People's Republic of China;3. Shell Global Solutions, Westhollow Technology Center, P. O. Box 1380, Houston, Texas 77251-1380;4. Polymer BIN Fusion Research Team, School of Advanced Materials Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Duckjin-Dong 1Ga 664-14, Jeonju, Jeonbuk 561-756, Republic of Korea |
| Abstract: | The melting and crystallization behaviors of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT)/acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) blends were investigated with and without epoxy or styrene–butadiene–maleic anhydride copolymer (SBM) as a reactive compatibilizer. The existence of two separate composition-dependent glass-transition temperatures (Tg's) indicated that PTT was partially miscible with ABS over the entire composition range. The melting temperature of the PTT phase in the blends was also composition dependent and shifted to lower temperatures with increasing ABS content. Both the cold crystallization temperature and Tg of the PTT phase moved to higher temperatures in the presence of compatibilizers, which indicated their compatibilization effects on the blends. A crystallization exotherm of the PTT phase was noticed for all of the PTT/ABS blends. The crystallization behaviors were completely different at low and high ABS contents. When ABS was 0–50 wt %, the crystallization process of PTT shifted slightly to higher temperatures as the ABS content was increased. When ABS was 60 wt % or greater, PTT showed fractionated crystallization. The effects of both the epoxy and SBM compatibilizers on the crystallization of PTT were content dependent. At a lower contents of 1–3 wt % epoxy or 1 wt % SBM, the crystallization was retarded, whereas at a higher content of 5 wt %, the crystallization was accelerated. The crystallization kinetics were analyzed with a modified Avrami equation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008 |
