Segment relaxation in PBT/PC and PA6/ABS blends as studied by thermally stimulated depolarization currents

The segment relaxation in two series of binary, finely dispersed poly(butylene terephthalate)/polycarbonate (PBT/PC) and polyamide-6/acrylonitrile-buta-diene-styrene (PA6/ABS) blends was studied by the method of thermally stimulated depolarization currents (TSDC) both in normal mode (global TSDC spectra) and in thermal-sampling mode (TSDC-TS). The resulting temperature dependencies and distribution functions of segment relaxation activation energy E_asr and the influence of annealing on the relaxation behavior of the mixed phases are discussed, considering the phase morphology. Common to all blends under study are lower E _asrp (the most probable value of E _asr), narrower E _asr distribution functions, and broader temperature ranges of the glass transitions in both phases of the blend compared to those of the initial components. The relationships are in good agreement with the hypothesis on the spontaneous fractionation of polymers in blends and on the breakdown of the cooperative segment mobility regions caused by the interactions between the molecular chains of different polymers. In finely dispersed small particles of the PBT-rich phase (particle diameter ≥ 0.5 μm), a degeneration of the cooperative segment (a) relaxation in a noncooperative segment (β) relaxation caused by the solution of PC molecules in PBT was detected.