EFFECTS OF COMPATIBILIZERS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE/LIGNIN BLENDS

Low density polyethylene(LDPE)/lignin blends were prepared using melt blending.Two kinds of compatibilizers, ethylene-vinylacetate(EVA) which is softer than LDPE and polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride(PE-g-MA) which is harder than LDPE were used to improve the interfacial adhesion.Scanning electron microscope(SEM) was used to investigate the dispersion of lignin in LDPE matrix.The results showed that both of the compatibilizers could improve the interaction between the low density polyethylene and l...

The Role of Compatibilizers on the Properties of PC/ABS Alloy

Two compatibilizers consisting of styrene-acrylonitrile-glycidyl methacrylate (SAG) terpolymer with different contents of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), SAG-001 (1 wt% of GMA) and SAG-005 (5 wt% of GMA), and styrene-acry-lonitrile-maleic anhydride terpolymer (SAM), SAM-002 (2 wt% of maleic anhydride ), were used to evaluate the role of compatibilizers in the PC/ABS alloy in terms of the mechanical properties, thermal stability and phase morphology. The tensile strength of SAG modified PC/ABS alloy slightly increased than that of SAM modified system, but the two compatibilizers barely affected the flexural strength of the system. On the other hand, the impact strength of SAG modified PC/ABS was improved. In addition, the MFR (melt flow index) of the SAG modified PC/ABS alloy reduced, implying that the viscosity or molecular weight of the system increased. The HDT (heat distortion temperature) also improved with SAG modified system. Moreover, the phase morphology of the SAG modified PC/ABS alloys much enhanced than that of SAM modified system. As a consequence, SAG compatibilized PC/ABS alloy showed better properties than those of SAM modified system, suggesting that the reaction between carboxylic or epoxy groups in SAG and terminal carboxyl group in PC would be the main factor to bring the enhancement in the mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of the PC/ABS alloy.

TOUGHENING OF ETHYLENE-PROPYLENE RANDOM COPOLYMER/CLAY NANOCOMPOSITES:COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT COMPATIBILIZERS

Ethylene/propylene-random-copolymer （PPR）/clay nanocomposites were prepared by two-stage melt blending. Four types of compatibilizers, including an ethylene-octene copolymer grafted maleic anhydride （POE-g-MA） and three maleic-anhydride-grafted polypropylenes （PP-g-MA） with different melt flow indexes （MFI）, were used to improve the dispersion of organic clay in matrix. On the other hand, the effects of organic montmorillonite （OMMT） content on the nanocomposite structure in terms of clay dispersion in PPR matrix, thermal behavior and tensile properties were also studied. The X-ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） results show that the organic clay layers are mainly intercalated and partially exfoliated in the nanocomposites. Moreover, a PP-g-MA compatibilizer （compatibilizer B） having high MFI can greatly increase the interlayer spacing of the clay as compared with other compatibilizers. With the introduction of compatibilizer D （POE-g-MA）, most of the clays are dispersed into the POE phase, and the shape of the dispersed OMMT appears elliptic, which differs from the strip of PP-g-MA. Compared with virgin PPR, the Young＇s modulus of the nanocomposite evidently increases when a compatibilizer C （PP-g-MA） with medium MFI is used. For the nanocomposites with compatibilizer B and C, their crystallinities （Xc） increase as compared with that of the virgin PPR. Furthermore, the increase of OMMT loadings presents little effect on the melt temperature （Tc） of the PPR/OMMT nanocomposites, and slight effect on their crystallization temperature （Tc）. Only compatibilizer B can lead to a marked increases in crystallinity and Tc of the nanocomposite when the OMMT content is 2 wt%.

Creating super-tough and strong PA6/ABS blends using multi-phase compatibilizers

Polyamide/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer(PA/ABS) blends have drawn considerable attention from both academia and industry for their important applications in automotive and electronic areas. Due to poor miscibility of PA and ABS, developing an effective compatibilization strategy has been an urgent challenge to achieve prominent mechanical properties. In this study, we create a set of mechanically enhanced PA6/ABS blends using two multi-monomer melt-grafted compatibilizers, SEBSg-(MAH-co-St) and ABS-g-(MAH-co-St). The dispersed domain size is significantly decreased and meanwhile the unique "soft shell-encapsulating-hard core" structures form in the presence of compatibilizers. The optimum mechanical performances manifest an increase of 36% in tensile strength and an increase of 1300% in impact strength, compared with the neat PA6/ABS binary blend.

Orthogonal Solubility in Fully Conjugated Donor-Acceptor Block Copolymers： Compatibilizers for Polymer/Fullerene Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells

Donor-acceptor （D-A） type fully conjugated block copolymer systems have been rarely reported due to the challenges in synthetic approaches to prepare well-defined low-polydispersity products. In this work, fully conjugated block copolymers are synthesized in a one-pot reaction through Stille coupling polycondensation, by utilizing the end-functional polymer copolymerization method. End-functional P3HT are copolymerized with AA （2,7-dihromo-9-（heptadecan-9-yl）-9H- carbazole） and BB （4,7-bis（5-（trimethylstannyl）thiophen-2-yl）benzo[c][1,2,5]thiadiazole, TBT） type monomers, respectively. The orthogonal solubility between the very soluble P3HT donor and the insoluble PCDTBT acceptor block improves the purity of block copolymers as well as distinct nano-scale phase-separation compared with other reports on miscibility of donor and acceptor polymer block. Further purification via preparative GPC is carried out to remove the excess of unreacted P3HT and free PCDTBT as well as to achieve low polydispersity of block copolymers. The chemical structure of the P3HT- b-PCDTBT block copolymers are verified via IH-NMR, and further confirmed by FTIR spectra. The block copolymer shows broad absorption and moderate optical band gap of 1.8 eV. Furthermore, the fully conjugated block copolymer films exhibit significant fine structures, much smoother film morphology compared to P3HT/PCDTBT polymer blends. By adding a small amount of block copolymer P3HT-b-PCDTBT as a compatibilizer into the bulk-heterojunction of P3HT：PC61BM blends, polymer solar ceils with an 8% increase of short circuit current （Jse） and 10% increase of power conversion efficiency （PCE） are achieved owing to the improvement of the active-layer film morphology. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on donor-acceptor type fully conjugated block copolymer as an effective ternary additive in polymer： fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells.

Effect of Olefin-based Compatibilizers on the Formation of Cocontinuous Structure in Immiscible HDPE/iPP Blends

In this work,the formation of cocontinuous structure in immiscible high density polyethylene/isotactic polypropylene(HDPE/iPP)blends was investigated for various olefin-based compatibilizers of distinct molecular architectures,including ternary random copolymer EPDM,olefin block copolymer(OBC),polypropylene-based OBC(PP-OBC),ethylene/a-olefin copolymer(POE),bottlebrush polymer poly(1-dodecene),and comb-like poly(propylene-co-high a-olefin)(PPO).The scanning electron microscopy results show that after adding OBC,PP-OBC,and POE copolymers,the finer droplet-in-matrix morphologies were obtained in 70/30 HDPE/iPP blend.Interestingly,for 70/30 HDPE/iPP blend with just 5 wt%of PPO copolymers,the phase inversion from droplet-in-matrix to cocontinuous morphology can be observed.It was proposed that the development of cocontinuous morphology contained the following steps:(1)in terfacial saturati on of compatibilizers and droplet deformation,(2)droplet-droplet coalesce nee,(3)continuity development,and(4)the formation of dual-phase con tinuity.Among the diverse copolymers studied in this work,PPO copolymer can be easily removed out of the interface during droplet coalescence and stabilize the curvature of minor fiber phase,facilitating the formation of cocontinuous morphology.In contrast,other olefin-based compatibilizers(EPDM,OBC,PP-OBC,and POE)exhibit the distinct steric repulsion effect to prohibit droplet coalescence.Moreover,the cocontinous interval varies with the compatibilizer architectures.Surprisingly,after adding 10 wt%of PPO copolymers,the cocontinuous interval was greatly broadened from HDPE/iPP range of 45/55-60/40 to that of 40/60-70/30.

Correlation of Morphology Evolution with Superior Mechanical Properties in PA6/PS/PP/SEBS Blends Compatibilized by Multi-phase Compatibilizers

In this study, the maleic anhydride （MAH） and styrene （St） dual monomers grafted polypropylene （PP） and poly[styrene-b- （ethylene-co-butylene）-b-styrene] （SEBS）, i.e. PP-g-（MAH-co-St） and SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St） are prepared as multi-phase compatibilizers and used to compatibilize the PA6/PS/PP/SEBS （70/10/10/10） model quaternary blends. Both PS and SEBS are encapsulated by the hard shell of PP-g-（MAH-co-St） in the dispersed domains （about 2 μm） of the PA6/PS/PP-g-（MAH-co-St）/SEBS （70/10/10/10） quaternary blend. In contrast, inside the dispersed domains （about 1 μm） of the PA6/PS/PP/SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St） （70/10/10/10） quaternary blend, the soft SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St） encapsulates both the hard PS and PP phases and separates them. With increasing the content of the compatibilizers equally, the morphology of the PA6/PS/（PP＋PP-g-（MAH-co-St））/（SEBS＋SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St）） （70/10/10/10） quaternary blends evolves from the soft （SEBS＋SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St）） encapsulating PS and partially encapsulating PP （about 1 μm）, then to PS exclusively encapsulated by the soft SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St） and then separated by PP-g-（MAH-co-St） inside the smaller domains （about 0.6 μm）. This morphology evolution has been well predicted by spreading coefficients and explained by the reaction between the matrix PA6 and the compatibilizers. The quaternary blends compatibilized by more compatibilizers exhibit stronger hierarchical interfacial adhesions and smaller dispersed domain, which results in the further improved mechanical properties. Compared to the uncompatibilized blend, the blend with both 10 wt% PP-g-（MAH-co-St） and 10 wt% SEBS-g-（MAH-co-St） has the best mechanical properties with the stress at break, strain at break and impact failure energy improved significantly by 97%, 71% and 261%, respectively. There is a strong correlation between the structure and property in the blends.

Comparative Study on Properties of PBAT/PBSA Film Modified by a Multi-Functional Epoxide Chain Extender or Benzoyl Peroxide

Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT)and poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate)(PBSA)blend films were prepared with different contents of a multifunctional epoxide chain extender Joncryl ADR-4468(ADR)or benzoyl peroxide(BPO).The long-chain-branching(LCB)introduced by ADR and branched/crosslinked entanglement induced by BPO increased melt elasticity,viscosity and compatibility,as indicated by thermal properties,rheological and morphological analyses.It was found that the elongation at break and the tensile strength were significantly improved,due to the enhancement of compatibility and the interfacial adhesion by the incorporation of ADR or BPO.The best mechanical properties were obtained in PBAT/PBSA/ADR(60/40/0.3)(A4T6A_(0.3))and PBAT/PBSA/BPO(60/40/0.9)(A4T6B_(0.9))films,respectively.With the rapid initiation of chain growth by BPO,it has significantly improved the transparency of the film.ADR and BPO can be used interchangeably in improving the comprehensive properties of PBAT/PBSA films,and it would provide more strategies for developing biodegradable materials for various applications.

Compatibilization of PBT/PP Blends by Adding Side-chain Liquid Crystalline Ionomer with Quaternary Pyridinium Groups

A side-chain liquid crystalline ionomer（SLCI） was synthesized by grafting copolymerization of 4-（4-ethoxybenzoyloxy）-4＇-allyloxybiphenyl and N-allyl-pyridium bromide on polymethylhydrosiloxane. The SLCI was blended with polypropylene（PP） and polybutylene terephthalate（PBT） by melt mixing. The thermal behavior, liquid crystalline properties, morphological structure, and mechanical properties of the blends were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）, polarizing optical microscopy（POM）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, and tensile measurement. When a proper amount of SLCI was added, fine configurations were formed in the PBT/PP/SLCI blend system, and the mechanical properties were improved due to improved adhesion at the interface. When excess SLCI was added, an inhomogeneous structure resulted, which caused the mechanical properties to deteriorate.

Starch-g-poly (vinyl alcohol) as Compatibilizer for Reducing the Phase Separation Rates of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Cornstarch Pastes

Starch- g-poly(vinyl alcohol) as a compatibilizing agent for reducing the phase separation rates of polyvinyl alcohol/starch pastes has been investigated by blending and dissolving the two polymers in distilled water. The separation rates were quantitatively evaluated by the term of initiul demixing time. The grafted starches, with a series of grafting ratios, were prepared by grafting a number of vinyl acetate onto granular cornstarch in aqueous dispersion and then alcoholating in methanol. It was found that the addition of small amounts of starch- g poly (vinyl alcohol ) in the size compositions can effectively decrease the separation rates of the blended pastes in comparison to pure starch/PVA ones.Moreover, the influence of the grafting ratio, starch content, and PVA variety on the separation rates was also studied.

Starch/Polycaprolactone Blends Compatibilized with Starch Modified Polyurethane

Starch modified polyurethane（St-PCL） was synthesized via chemical modification of corn starch with hexamethylene diisocyanate terminated polyeaprolactone. The obtained St-PCL with different grafting rates was used as compatibilizer of starch/polycaprolactone（St/PCL） blend. The structure of St-PCL was confirmed by FTIR, and the grafting rate could reach as high as 64%. In addition, a lower St-PCL amount can effectively improve the compatibility of St/PCL blends. And the thermal, mechanical and hydrophobic properties of St/PCL blends could be tailored by the amount of St-PCL.

Effect of Poly(ε-caprolactone-b-tetrahydrofuran)Triblock Copolymer Concentration on Morphological,Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Immiscible PLA/PCL Blends

In this study a low molecular weight triblock copolymer derived fromε-caprolactone and tetrahydrofuran was used as a non-reactive compatibilizer of immiscible PLA/PCL blends.Ternary blends with 0,1.5 wt%,3 wt%and 5 wt% copolymer and about 75 wt%PLA were prepared by single screw extrusion and characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM),differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA),tensile and Izod impact testing.SEM micrographs showed that the size of the dispersed PCL domains was practically constant regardless of copolymer concentration.This result can be explained by the low shear rate employed during processing step and a decrease of PCL viscosity by presence of the triblock copolymer.However,when the copolymer concentration increased,strain at break of PLA/PCL blends also increased.PLA/PCL blend with 0 wt% copolymer presented 2%strain at break,whereas PLA/PCL blend with 5 wt%copolymer exhibited 90%.

Rheological Properties of Polymers: Structure and Morphology of Molten Polymer Blends

The article reviews a brief literature on the rheological properties of polymer melts and blends. Experimental results on polymer blends are summarized. Technically, vital types of multi-phase polymers such as compounds and blends are discussed. The importance of the rheological properties of polymer mixtures in the development of the phase structure is discussed. And the importance of considering the stress and/or strain history of a material sample in a rheological investigation is discussed. Finally, the outlook on the past, present and future developments in the field of polymer rheology are given. The review concludes with a brief discussion on the opportunities and challenges in the field of polymer blends and blend rheology.

Effectiveness of Compatibilizer on Mechanical Properties of Recycled PET Blends with PE, PP, and PS

Recycled PET (R-PET) is well known to exhibit brittle behavior in the presence of notches and indicated the low heat distortion temperature. In addition, it is hard to prevent some impurities such as cap or label of the bottle that mixed into R-PET during the recycling process. In this paper, the effect of the amounts and kinds of compatibilizers on the morphological characteristics and mechanical performance of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (R-PET) compounded with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) was investigated. From the results, with an increase in the glycidyl methacrylate modified PE (EGMA) additive contents, in the increment of the Izod impact strength of Composite-G was obtained. In addition, it was found that the miscibility of Composite-G was improved with increasing the amount of EGMA, which indicated from the result of SEM images.

Influence of Poly(vinyl chloride) on Natural Rubber/Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene Blends

Blend of natural rubber (NR) and chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) was so interesting due to binding of the good oil resistance of CSM, the good mechanical properties and low cost of NR. However, due to the different polarities of two rubbers, phase separation and inferior properties of NR/CSM blend were obtained. The practical way to improve its properties is the addition of the third component to bind both phases of the blend. Effects of poly(vinyl chloride), PVC as compatibilizer on cure characteristics, morphology, mechanical properties and automotive fuel resistance of NR/ CSM blend were investigated. In this contribution, NR/CSM blend with blend ratio of 50/50 was prepared using a two-roll mill, and then vulcanized in a compression mold at 160°C. The PVC content was varied from 1 to 7 phr. It was found that the usage of 7 phr PVC led to improve interaction between NR and CSM phases. Therefore, increase in cure characteristics, mechanical strength and automotive fuel resistance of the blend was observed.

Mechanical properties of wood flour/recycled-thermoplastic-blends composites

The mechanical properties of composites prepared from wood flour and thermoplastic blends were investigated. Thermoplastic mixtures of polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polystyrene (PS), virgin or recycled, were mixed with wood flour in a high speed blender and then extruded by a specially designed twin/single screw extruder system to form wood-flour/thermoplastic-blends composites (WTBCs). Comparative studies were made to evaluate the effectiveness of the two modification methods of the thermoplastic blends, the one of the addition of maleic anhydride grafted styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS-g-MAH) as compatibilizer and the other of blend grafting of maleic anhydride (MAH) using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as initiator by reactive extrusion. The results showed that the impact properties of WTBCs using SEBS-g-MAH as compatilizer were better improved than that of the blend grafting. However, adverse results were observed on the tensile and flexural properties of the corresponding WTBCs. The mechanical properties of WTBCs prepared from recycled plastic blends were poorer to some extent than that from virgin plastic blends in general, especially in elongation break. The morphology of WTBCs breaking section was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the results showed that a good interfacial adhesion between wood flour and polymer matrix was observed with both of the two modification methods. However, by blend grafting of adding DCP as initiator and MAH as monomer, a better interfacial bonding between wood and plastic matrix was obtained than that of the addition of SEBS-g-MAH. Blend grafting can be considered as a potential way of increasing the interfacial compatibility of different plastics and between plastic blends and wood.

CROSSLINKING AND COMPATIBILIZATION IN BLENDS OF POLYSTYRENE AND POLYETHYLENE

This paper investigated the influences of butadiene rubber (BR) and dicumyl peroxide (DCP) on thermal and rheological behaviour, morphology and mechanical properties of PS/LLDPE/SBS blend. Addition of DCP alone was found to decrease the mechanical properties of PS/LLDPE/SBS blend due to the decomposition of PS. When BR was added together with DCP, it is found that the co-crosslinking of BR, SBS and PE takes place, and the decomposition of PS is reduced simultaneously because of the consumption of the free radicals in the crosslinking process. Synergism was thus realised which resulted in the improvement of the ductility of blend.

EFFECTS OF STYRENE-ETHYLENE/PROPYLENE DIBLOCK COPOLYMER (SEP) ON THE COMPATIBILIZATION OF PP/PS BLENDS

The effects of styrene-ethylene/propylene (SEP) diblock copolymer on the morphology and mechanical propertiesof polypropylene/polystyrene (PP/PS) blends were investigated. The results showed that SEP diblock copolymer, acting as acompatibilizer in PP/PS immiscible blends, can diminish the coalescence of the dispersed particles, reduce their averageparticle size, change their phase morphologies significantly, and increase the mechanical properties. It was found that SEP has better compatibilization effects on the PP/PS (20/80) blends.

SYNTHESIS OF POLYACRYLAMIDE WITH PENDANT POLY(BUTYL ACRYLATE) CHAINS USING THE MACROMER TECHNIQUE AND STUDIES ON THEIR PROPERTIES

An amphiphilic graft polymer, (PAM-g-PBA), polyacrylamide (PAM) having poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PBA) side chains, was obtained by radical copolymerization of acrylamide with PBA macromer in solution. The macromer was synthesized by free radical polymerization of butyl acrylate in the presence of different amounts of thioglycolic acid as the chain transfer agent, followed by termination with glycidyl methacrylate. The reactivity ratio and effects of copolymerization conditions on the conversion of macromer or grafting efficiency were studied. The crude products were purified by extraction with toluene and water successively. The purified graft copolymer was characterized by IR, DSC and TEM. PAM-g-PBA can bring about microphase separation and exhibits good emulsifying properties and water absorbency. PAM-g-PBA exhibits a very good compatibilizing effect on the acrylic rubber/poly(vinyl chloride) blends. 2%-3% of the graft copolymer is enough for enhancing the tensile strength of the blends. The tensile strength of the blends is more than twice that without the compatibilizer. DSC and SEM demonstrated the enhancement of compatibility in the presence of the graft copolymer.

Morphology and Compatibility of Compatibilized Polyethersulfone and Polycarbonate Blends

A PES-PC （polyethersulfone-polycarbonate） multi block random copolymer was synthesized with two oligomers, polyethersulfone and polycarbonate. The effects of the copolymer, as a compatibilizer, on the morphology and compatibility of the PES-PC blends were investigated. It was found that the addition of this copolymer to the PES-PC blends could improve their compatibility.