| Abstract: | Preparation, morphology, and mechanical properties were studied of blends of a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) with two different grades of polypropylene, one with and one without overlap in processing temperatures, using two different blending methods. The highly viscous grade (PP-1) was of sufficient thermal stability to be blended with the TLCP (Vectra A950) in a single-screw extruder with an Egan mixing section on the screw. The low viscous grade (PP-2) could not be processed at the same temperature as the TLCP because of degradation. Its blends were, therefore, prepared by a special coextrusion technique, i.e. feeding the two components from two separate extruders to a Ross static mixer. In both methods drawing of the extrudate is necessary to obtain satisfactory mechanical properties. The PP-1/TLCP blends had to be extruded twice in order to obtain proper mixing. The morphology of these blends ranges from a pronounced skin-core morphology at low extrudate draw ratio (DR = 3) to a high-aspect ratio fiber/matrix morphology at high draw ratio (DR = 15). The morphology of the PP-2/TLCP blends was always a high-aspect ratio fiber/matrix morphology even at low draw ratios. The TLCP fibers were generated in this coextrusion process under conditions where the viscosity of the dispersed phase was higher than the viscosity of the matrix. Breakup experiments demonstrate that fibers of a thickness of approximately 1 μm disintegrate into droplets within a few seconds at temperatures above the melting point of the TLCP. This is probably the cause of the skin-core morphology obtained with single-screw extrusion. Tensile modulus and strength of all blends increase with extrudate draw ratio. The deformation of the TLCP phase in the drawn blends is less than affine, probably because of slip between the phases. The moduli of the PP-1/TLCP blends as a function of the draw ratio can be described well by a modified Halpin-Tsai equation taking into account both changes in aspect ratio and molecular orientation of the TLCP fibers. The level of reinforcement in the PP-2/TLCP blends is lower than expected, probably because of the low temperature of drawing. This demonstrates a limitation of the coextrusion process: blending at temperatures that are too low reduces mechanical properties. |
