Structure and mechanical properties of blends of poly(ether imide) and an amorphous polyamide

Biphasic poly(ether imide)/poly(trimethyl hexamethylene terephthalamide) blends were obtained by injection moulding through the full composition range both with and without previous extrusion mixing. The extruded blends showed an improved performance, as the T_gs of the two amorphous phases changed and the changes were larger than those of directly injected blends. The T_g changes indicate the presence of the two components in the two phases of the extruded blends. The consequent low interfacial tension is proposed as the reason for the observed generally fine particle size (typically 0.3 μm). Both characteristics led to mostly ductile materials. The modulus of elasticity and the yield stress were slightly below those predicted by the rule of mixtures. As this was due to a lower orientation in the blends, both properties could improve through a change of the processing parameters. The increase in impact strength over that of pure PEI, and particularly, the sudden processability increase (35% torque decrease) upon a-PA addition, led to compatible blends that, as in the case of the 90/10 composition, could be a polymeric material alternative to unmodified PEI.