Effect of SEPS as a novel compatibilizer on the properties and morphology of PP/PC/POE blends

A novel macromolecular compatibilizer, styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene (SEPS) with high content of styrene, was investigated for the purpose of improving the compatibility of PP (polypropylene)/PC (polycarbonate)/POE (ethylene-octene copolymer) blends. SEPS shows a remarkable compatibilizing effect since it has a particular structure with the EP-compatible aliphatic segments, which is well miscible with the nonpolar PP and olefinic elastomer POE domains, and S-chain segments which exhibit strong affinity with PC because of the similar molecular structure. Its compatibilizing effect was examined in terms of the mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties. The compatibilized PP-based blends represent remarkable improvement in impact strength and balanced tensile strength. When 5 wt % SEPS was added to PP/PC/POE blends (20 wt % POE), the impact strength of the blends was enhanced from 24 to 43 kJ/m² without obvious drop in the tensile strength. Their morphologies show a decreasing and much more homogeneous size of dispersed PC and POE particles through addition of SEPS, and the fracture surface morphologies change from irregular mosaic to the mix of mosaic and striation, and finally the regularly distant striation. The special morphology structure that resulted from the effect of the compatibilizer could be a key for enhancement of toughness and balanced rigidity of the blends. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Effect of compatibilizer on morphology and mechanical properties of TPU/SAN blends

Melt blends of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and Poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile), (SAN) of various compositions were prepared using a two‐roll mill. Two blends of composition 70:30 and 50:50 TPU/SAN were selected for compatibility studies. The compatibility effect of SMA on these incompatible blends was studied. The morphology and physical properties of blends were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and mechanical properties. TPU/SAN/SMA 70:30:5 showed better compatibility than other blend ratios.     

Influence of compatibilizer on mechanical,morphological and rheological properties of PP/ABS blends

The objective of this work was to study the compatibilizer effect on polypropylene (PP) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) blends. The blends were coextruded and injection molded in various ratios of ABS with and without compatibilizers. Universal testing machine was employed to analyze the tensile properties of basic PP/ABS binary blends. From the mechanical testing, the impact and tensile properties of PP/ABS blend were optimized at 80/20 weight ratio. Various compatibilizers such as PP-g-MAH, SEBS-g-MAH and ethylene α-olefin copolymer were used and their comparative performance on binary blend was enumerated. Hybrid compatibilization effect was also studied and reported. However, the addition of compatibilizers showed the maximum increase in impact strength attributed to rubber toughening effect of ABS. The effect of compatibilizers on morphological properties was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM micrographs depicted the more efficient dispersion of ABS particles in PP matrix with the addition of compatibilizers. Further, interparticle distance analysis was carried out to evaluate the rubber toughening effect. The ABS droplet size in compatibilized PP/ABS blend was brought to minimum of 3.2 μm from 9.9 μm with the addition of compatibilizers. The melt rheology of PP/ABS blend systems was investigated through parallel plate arrangement in frequency sweep. Linear viscoelastic properties like storage (G′) and loss (G″) modulus and complex viscosity (η*) have been reported with reference to the virgin materials. It is understood that the combination of compatibilizers (hybrid compatibilizer) had a considerable effect on the overall blend properties.     

Effect of the compatibilizer on the morphology and properties of dynamically cured PP/POE/epoxy blends

Dynamic vulcanization was successfully applied to epoxy resin reinforced polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐octene copolymer (POE) blends, and the effects of different compatibilizers on the morphology and properties of dynamically cured PP/POE/epoxy blends were studied. The results show that dynamically cured PP/POE/epoxy blends compatibilized with maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (MAH‐g‐PP) have a three‐phase structure consisting of POE and epoxy particles dispersed in the PP continuous phase, and these blends had improved tensile strength and flexural modulus. While using maleic anhydride‐grafted POE (MAH‐g‐POE) as a compatibilizer, the structure of the core‐shell complex phase and the PP continuous phase showed that epoxy particles could be embedded in MAH‐g‐POE in the blends, and gave rise to an increase in impact strength, while retaining a certain strength and modulus. DSC analysis showed that the epoxy particles in the blends compatibilized with MAH‐g‐PP were more efficient nucleating agents for PP than they were in the blends compatibilized with MAH‐g‐POE. WAXD analysis shows that compatibilization do not disturb the crystalline structure of PP in the blends. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Morphology,thermal behavior,and mechanical properties of PA1010/PP and PA 1010/PP-g-GMA blends

The modification of polypropylene (PP) was accomplished by melt grafting glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) on its molecular chains. The resulting PP-g-GMA was used to prepare binary blends of polyamide 1010 (PA1010) and PP-g-GMA. Different blend morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) according to the nature and content of PA1010 used. Comparing the PA1010/PP-g-GMA and PA1010/PP binary blends, the size of the domains of PP-g-GMA were much smaller than that of PP at the same compositions. It was found that mechanical properties of PA1010/PP-g-GMA blends were obviously better than that of PA1010/PP blends, and the mechanical properties were significantly influenced by wetting conditions for uncompatibilized and compatibilized blends. A different dependence of the flexural modulus on water was found for PA1010/PP and PA1010/PP-g-GMA. These behaviors could be attributed to the chemical interactions between the two components and good dispersion in PA1010/PP-g-GMA blends. Thermal and rheological analyses were performed to confirm the possible chemical reactions taking place during the blending process. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 1489–1498, 1997     

Effects of compatibilizer precursors on the barrier properties and morphology of polyethylene/polyamide blends

Summary A systematic investigation on the effects of type of compatibilizer precursors (CP) upon the barrier properties and morphology of PE/PA blends was reported. Three alkyl carboxyl-substituted polyolefins were selected to modify PA in a twin screw extruder by reactive extrusion process. The barrier property of the modified PA (MPA) was better than pure PA, and the amount of barrier improvement of the blend of PE and MPA dependended significantly on the barrier property of the MPA prepared. The extent of mixing PE and MPA before blow-molding has a significant effect on its corresponding barrier properties. Further analysis of the fracture surfaces indicated that a more demarcated laminar structure of MPA dispersed in PE matrix is essential for better barrier properties of PE/MPA blends. It is not completely clear how the type of CP added affects the barrier properties of MPAs. However, it is suggested that long PA sequence with shorter grafted CP chain and high normalized grafting efficiency of MPA are essential for preparing a clear laminar structure of MPA, and a good barrier properties of PE/MPA blends.     

马来酸酐化增容剂对PP/PET共混物性能的影响

采用熔融共混法制备了聚丙烯(PP)/聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯(PET)共混物,研究了马来酸酐接枝聚丙烯(PP-g-MAH)和马来酸酐接枝乙烯/辛烯共聚物(POE-g-MAH)作为增容剂对共混物力学性能和非等温结晶行为的影响。结果表明:PP-g-MAH提高了共混体系的拉伸强度,加入POE-g-MAH则显著提高共混物的断裂伸长率;当PP∶PET∶增容剂质量比为80∶20∶5时,共混体系的力学性能较好;PET起到异相成核的作用,使PP的结晶峰温升高,半结晶时间缩短;加入增容剂,使PP的结晶峰温降低,半结晶时间延长。     

Influence of ABS type on morphology and mechanical properties of PC/ABS blends

The morphology and the mechanical properties of polycarbonate (PC) blends with different acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) materials were investigated. PC/ABS blends based on a mass-made ABS with 16% rubber and large (0.5–1μm) rubber particles are compared to blends based on an emulsion-made ABS with 50% rubber and small, monodisperse (0.12 μm) rubber particles over the full range of blend compositions. The blends with the bulk ABS showed excellent impact strength for most compositions, and those containing 50 and 70% PC exhibited ductile to brittle transition temperatures below that of PC. The blends with the emulsion ABS showed excellent toughness in sharp notch Izod impact tests at room temperature and in standard notch Izod impact tests at low temperatures near the T_g of the rubber. By melt blending the various ABS materials with a styrene–acrylonitrile (SAN 25) copolymer, materials with lower rubber concentrations were obtained. These materials were used in blends with PC to make comparisons at constant rubber concentration of 5, 10, and 15%. The results of this investigation show that brittle ABS materials can produce tough PC–ABS blends. It is apparent that small rubber particles toughen PC–ABS blends at lower rubber concentrations and at lower temperatures than is possible with large rubber particles. However, additional work is needed to understand the nature of toughening in these PC–ABS blends with different rubber phase morphologies. It is of particular interest to understand the exceptional ductility of some of the blends at low temperatures. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effects of addition of acrylic compatibilizer on the morphology and mechanical behavior of amorphous polyamide/SAN blends

Amorphous polyamide (aPA)/acrylonitrile‐styrene copolymer (SAN) blends were prepared using methyl methacrylate‐maleic anhydride copolymer MMA‐MA as compatibilizer. The aPA/SAN blends can be considered as a less complex version of the aPA/ABS (acrylonitrilebutadiene‐styrene) blends, due to the absence of the ABS rubber phase in the SAN material. It is known that acrylic copolymer might be miscible with SAN, whereas the maleic anhydride groups from MMA‐MA can react in situ with the amine end groups of aPA during melt blending. As a result, it is possible the in situ formation of aPA‐g‐MMA‐MA grafted copolymers at the aPA/SAN interface during the melt processing of the blends. In this study, the MA content in the MMA‐MA copolymer and its molecular weight was varied independently and their effects on the blend morphology and stress–strain behavior were evaluated. The morphology of the blends aPA/SAN showed a minimum in the SAN particle size at low amounts of MA in the compatibilizer, however, as the MA content in the MMA‐MA copolymer was increased larger SAN particle sizes were observed in the systems. In addition, higher MA content in the compatibilizer lead to less ductile aPA/SAN blends under tensile testing. The results shown the viscosity ratio also plays a very important role in the morphology formation and consequently on the properties of the aPA/SAN blends studied. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Studies on morphology and mechanical properties of PP/HIPS blends from postconsumer plastic waste

The aim of this work was to study the compatibilizing effect of the triblock copolymer poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene‐co‐butylene‐b‐styrene) (SEBS) on the morphology and mechanical properties of virgin and recycled polypropylene/high‐impact polystyrene (PP/HIPS) blends. The components of the blend were obtained from municipal plastics waste (MPW), with the PP obtained from blue mineral water bottles, symbolized as PP_b, and the HIPS from disposable cups. These materials were preground, washed only with water, dried with hot air, and ground again (PP_b) or agglutinated (HIPS). Blends of PP_b and HIPS in three weight ratios (6:1, 6:2, and 6:3) were prepared, and three concentrations of SEBS (5.0, 6.0, and 6.7% w/w) were used for investigations of its compatibilizing effect. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that SEBS reduced the diameter of HIPS dispersed particles that were globular and fibril shaped, along with improving the adhesion between the dispersed phase and the matrix. On the other hand, SEBS interactions with PP_b and HIPS influenced the mechanical properties of the compatibilized PP_b/HIPS/SEBS blends. The optimal concentration of SEBS was 5 wt % for application to composite films with similar characteristics to synthetic paper. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 747–751, 2003     

Changes in the interfacial properties of PC/SAN blends with compatibilizer

Block copolymers of polycarbonate‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PC‐b‐PMMA) and tetramethyl poly(carbonate)‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (TMPC‐b‐PMMA) were examined as compatibilizers for blends of polycarbonate (PC) with styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymer. To explore the effects of block copolymers on the compatibility of PC/SAN blends, the average diameter of the dispersed particles in the blend was measured with an image analyzer, and the interfacial properties of the blends were analyzed with an imbedded fiber retraction (IFR) technique and an asymmetric double cantilever beam fracture test. The average diameter of dispersed particles and interfacial tension of the PC/SAN blends were reduced by adding compatibilizer to the PC/SAN blends. Fracture toughness of the blends was also improved by enhancing interfacial adhesion with compatibilizer. TMPC‐b‐PMMA copolymer was more effective than PC‐b‐PMMA copolymer as a compatibilizer for the PC/SAN blends. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2649–2656, 2003     

The morphology and mechanical properties of dynamic packing injection molded PP/PS blends

As a part of long-term project aimed at super polyolefin blends, in this work, we report the mechanical reinforcement and phase morphology of the immiscible blends of polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) achieved by dynamic packing injection molding (DPIM). The shear stress (achieved by DPIM) and interfacial interaction (obtained by using styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) as a compatibilizer) have a great effect on phase morphology thus mechanical properties. The shear-induced morphology with core in the center and oriented zone surrounding the core was observed in the cross-section areas of the samples. The phase inversion was also found to shift towards lower PS content under shear stress, at 70 wt% in the core and 30 wt% in the oriented zone, compared with 80 wt% for static samples (without shear). The tensile strength, tensile modules and impact strength were found largely increase by means of either shear stress or compatibilizer. The PS particle size is greatly reduced with adding of SBS, and the reduced particle size results in greater resistance to deformation, which causes the co-continuous structure at oriented zone change into droplet morphology. The morphology resulting from blending and processing was discussed based on effect of interfacial tension, shear rate, phase viscosity ratio and composition. The observed change of mechanical properties was explained based on the combined effect of phase morphology (droplet-matrix or co-continuous phase) and molecular orientation under shear stress.     

PP/r-PET共混物的力学性能

以聚丙烯（PP）为基础树脂,马来酸酐接枝聚丙烯（PP-g-MAH）为增容剂,用双螺杆挤出机制备PP／PP-g-MAH／回收聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（r-PET）共混物,研究了r-PET及PP—g-MAH对共混物力学性能的影响。结果表明,加入PP-g-MAH可提高共混体系的相容性,加入r-PET可较大幅度提高PP的弯曲和冲击强度。     

Effects of the blending sequence and interfacial agent on the morphology and mechanical properties of injection molded PC/PP Blends

Summary The effects of blending sequence and the addition of an interfacial agent (triblock copolymer styrene-butylene ethylene/styrene, Kraton G1652) on the morphology and the mechanical properties of Polycarbonate (PC)/Polypropylene (PP) blends prepared by injection molding were studied. This study presents an analysis of impact resistance, tensile properties and morphology of the raw materials and the blends at different compositions. The blends, before being injected, were prepared in a twin-screw extruder by different sequences of blending. The results indicate that the blending sequence and the presence of humidity significantly affect the properties and morphology of the blends. For ternary blends (PC/PP/Kraton), only one-step mixing before injection molding proved to be sufficient to improve mechanical properties. Increasing the amount of blending steps did not present a significant change in properties. With the addition of the interfacial agent, higher impact resistance and particle size reduction were observed.     

Influence of blend composition on the mechanical properties and morphology of PC/ASA/SAN ternary blends

Bisphenol A polycarbonate/acrylonitrile–styrene–acrylic/styrene–acrylonitrile copolymer (PC/ASA/SAN) ternary blends were prepared over a range of compositions via mixing PC, SAN, and ASA copolymer by melt blending. An analysis was made on the mechanical properties and morphology of the blends. Special care was taken to make comparisons of the morphologies and properties of blends with different SAN content. When a small amount SAN was introduced to PC/ASA blends, the dispersion condition of ASA in the matrix was improved and a better integrated mechanical properties was realized. Further increasing the SAN content led to a decrease of impact strength, which was due to the changing of the morphology of the blends and the inherent brittleness of matrix. The study about the effect of ASA content on the properties of PC/ASA/SAN blends showed that the blend with 20 wt% ASA had good mechanical properties.     

Effects of reactive functional groups in the compatibilizer on mechanical properties of compatibilized blends

The compatibility of blends of polyamide-6/[styrene-(ethylene-butylene)-styrene] triblock copolymer (SEBS) was enhanced with a compatibilizer, maleated SEBS, whose compositions were varied from 0 to 4 wt % of the blends. The maleated SEBS (MA-g-SEBS) was synthesized by reacting (grafting) maleic anhydride (MA) with SEBS in the laboratory at various maleic anhydride concentrations ranging from 8 to 13 wt % of the maleated compatibilizer. The effects of graft levels of the reactive MA functional group in the compatibilizer on the effectiveness in compatibilizing the blends were investigated. The morphology and the impact strengths of the compatibilized blends were determined. It was found that, depending on the maleated extents, the compatibilizer influenced significantly the properties of the blends. Although the maleated extents (graft ratios) of the compatibilizer is influential, the concentrations of the compatibilizer in the blends more sensitively affected the mechanical properties of the compatibilized blends. In summary, this study has shown that by increasing the MA contents (within the reported window) in the compatibilizer, the impact toughness could be more dramatically improved. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Partial replacement of EPR by GTR in highly flowable PP/EPR blends: Effects on morphology and mechanical properties

This research analyzes the effect of ground tire rubber (GTR) and a novel metallocene‐based ethylene–propylene copolymer (EPR), with high propylene content, on the morphology and mechanical behavior of ternary polymer blends based on a highly flowable polypropylene homopolymer (PP). The PP/EPR blends morphology, with very small domains of EPR dispersed in the PP matrix, indicates a good compatibility among these materials, which leads to a significant improvement on elongation at break and impact strength. The incorporation of EPR on the rubber phase of thermoplastic elastomeric blends (TPE) based on GTR and PP (TPE^GTR) has a positive effect on their mechanical performance, attributed to the toughness enhancement of the PP matrix and to the establishment of shell‐core morphology between the rubber phases. The mechanical properties of the ternary blends reveal that TPE^GTR blends allow the upcycling of this GTR material by injection molding technologies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42011.     

E-MA-GMA增容PP/PC体系的形态与性能

采用直接混合法和分级注入法制备了乙烯-丙烯酸酯-甲基丙烯酸缩水甘油酯共聚物增容聚碳酸酯/聚丙烯共混物.比较了两种混合方法对增容体系形态和性能的影响.结果表明,相比直接混合法,利用分级注入法所得混合体系的拉伸断裂应变大幅提高,且共混体系中分散相粒子与基体问有更强的界面作用,分散相粒子尺寸明显变小.用裂纹扩展功(G1C)评...     

Effect of cross‐linked LLDPE/PP blend (LLDPE‐PP) as compatibilizer on morphology,crystallization behavior and mechanical property of LLDPE/PP blends

Moderate cross‐linked blend (LLDPE‐PP) of linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polypropylene (PP) with benzoyl peroxide (BPO) were prepared by the reactive melt mixing in HAAKE mixer. Effect of LLDPE‐PP as compatibilizer on the morphology, crystallization behavior and mechanical properties of LLDPE/PP (87/13) blends were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), polarized optical microscopy (POM), wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and mechanical testing machines. The results showed that LLDPE‐PP not only improved the interfacial adhesion between the LLDPE and PP but also acted as selective nucleating agent for crystal modification of PP. In the blends, the sizes of LLDPE and PP spherulites became smaller, and their melting enthalpies reduced in the presence of LLDPE‐PP. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of LLDPE/PP blends were improved with the addition of LLDPE‐PP, and when the concentration of LLDPE‐PP was 2 phr, the ternary blend had the best mechanical properties. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Rheology‐morphology correlation in PET/PP blends: Influence of type of compatibilizer

Rheological and morphological properties of melt processed poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/polypropylene (PP) blends are presented. Two types of compatibilizer namely, PP‐g‐MA <MA= maleic anhydtide> and Elvaloy PTW, an n‐butyl acrylate glycidyl methacrylate ethylene terpolymers, were incorporated at different levels to the PET/PP blend system. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the dispersed particle sizes were smaller in PET‐rich blends than PP‐rich blends. With increasing compatibilizer level, the refinement of morphology was observed in both the systems. However, the blends compatibilized with PTW showed a more refined (smaller) particle size, and at high PTW content (10 wt%), the morphology changed towards monophasic. The significant changes in morphology were attributed to the highly reactive nature of PTW. Investigation of rheological properties revealed that the viscosity of the PET/PP blends followed typical trends based on mixing rule, which calculates the properties of blends based on a linear average. Incorporation of PP‐g‐MA into the blends resulted in a negative deviation in the viscosity of the system with respect to that of the neat blend. With increasing PP‐g‐MA level, the deviation became more pronounced. Although incorporation of the compatibilizer into the PET/PP blends refined the morphology, it led to a drastic drop of viscosity, which could be attributed to inherently lower molecular weight of the compatibilizer. In the case of the blends compatibilized by PTW, a strong positive deviation in rheological properties was observed that confirmed the stronger interaction between the blend components due to reactive compatibilization process, which led to the more refined morphology in this series of blends. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 19:25–30, 2013. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers