High density polyethylene/acrylonitrile butadiene rubber blends: Morphology,mechanical properties,and compatibilization

Polymer blends based on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) were prepared by a melt blending technique. The mixing parameters such as temperature, time, and speed of mixing were varied to obtain a wide range of properties. The mixing parameters were optimized by evaluating the mechanical properties of the blend over a wide range of mixing conditions. The morphology of the blend indicated a two-phase structure in which NBR phase was dispersed as domains up to 50% of its concentration in the continuous HDPE matrix. However, 70 : 30 NBR/HDPE showed a cocontinuous morphology. The tensile strength, elongation at break, and hardness of the system were measured as a function of blend compostion. As the polymer pair is incompatible, technological compatibilization was sought by the addition of maleic-modified polyethylene (MAPE) and phenolic-modified polyethylene (PhPE). The interfacial activity of MAPE and PhPE was studied as a function of compatibilizer concentration by following the morphology of the blend using scanning electron micrographs. Domain size of the dispersed phase showed a sharp decrease by the addition of small amounts of compatibilizers followed by a leveling off at higher concentrations. Also, more uniformity in the distribution of the dispersed phase was observed in compatibilized systems. The tensile strength of the compatibilized systems showed improvement. The mechanical property improvement, and finer and uniform morphology, of compatibilized systems were correlated with the improved interfacial condition of the compatibilized blends. The experimental results were compared with the current theories of Noolandi and Hong. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.