Morphology and thermal properties of a PC/PE blend with reactive compatibilization |
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| Authors: | Bo Yin Yin Zhao Min‐min Pan Ming‐bo Yang |
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| Affiliation: | 1. College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan, P. R. China;2. College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan, P. R. ChinaCollege of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, Sichuan, P. R. China. |
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| Abstract: | Reactive compatibilization of immiscible polymers is becoming increasingly important and hence a representative study of a polycarbonate/high density polyethylene (PC/HDPE) system is the focus of this paper. A grafted copolymer PC‐graft‐ethylene‐co‐acrylic acid (PC‐graft‐EAA) was generated as a compatibilizer in situ during processing operation by ester and acid reaction between PC and ethylene‐acrylic acid (EAA) in the presence of the catalyst dibutyl tin oxide (DBTO). As the polyethylene (PE) matrix does not play any part during the synthesis of the copolymer and since PC and EAA are also immiscible, to simplify the system, the influence of this copolymer formation at the interface between PC and EAA on rheological properties, phase morphology, and crystallization behavior for EAA/PC binary blends was first studied. The equilibrium torque increased with the DBTO content increasing in EAA/PC blends on Haake torque rheometer, indicating the in situ formation of the graft copolymer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies of cryogenically fractured surfaces showed a significant change at the distribution and dispersion of the dispersed phase in the presence of DBTO, compared with the EAA/PC blend without the catalyst. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies suggested that the heat of fusion of the EAA phase in PC/EAA blends with or without DBTO reduced with the formation of the copolymer compared with pure EAA. Then morphological studies and crystallization behavior of the uncompatibilized and compatibilized blends of PC/PE were studied as functions of EAA phase concentration and DBTO content. Morphological observations in PC/PE blends also revealed that on increasing the EAA content or adding the catalyst DBTO, the number of microvoids was reduced and the interface was intensive as compared to the uncompatibilized PC/PE blends. Crystallization studies indicated that PE crystallized at its bulk crystallization temperature. The degree of crystallinity of PE phase in PC/PE/EAA blends was also reduced with the addition of EAA and DBTO compared to the uncompatibilized blends of PC/PE, indicating the decrease in the degree of crystallinity was more in the presence of PC‐graft‐EAA. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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| Keywords: | reactive compatibilization phase morphology crystallization behavior graft copolymer |
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