Studies on the rheological, phase morphologic, thermal and mechanical properties of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/ethylene propylene diene monomer copolymer grafted with maleic anhydride/metallocene polyethylene blends

Abstract

The rheological, phase morphologic, thermal and mechanical properties of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)/metallocene polyethylene (PTT/mPE) blends in the presence of ethylene propylene diene monomer copolymer grafted with maleic anhydride (EPDM-g-MAH) as compatibilizer are studied by means of a capillary rheometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results suggest that the compatibility of PTT/mPE blends is improved greatly after the addition of a compatibilizer. The radius of the dispersed phase in the system decreases greatly when the compatibilizer is added into the blend. When the amount of compatibilizer exceeds 8 wt-%, the size of dispersed phase becomes larger again. This phenomena could be attributed to the higher viscosity of the EPDM-g-MAH phase, which is dispersed more difficulty in the PTT phase of lower viscosity, thus the mixing efficiency is apparently decreased during the melt blending process. Moreover, the melt viscosity of the blend reaches the maximal value in case of 4 wt-% compatibilizer content, above which it would decrease again. This result is associated with the generation of more and bigger dispersed phase inside the bulk phase, thus the grafting efficiency at the interface is decreased, which could result in lower viscosity. The DSC results suggest that the mPE component shows a nucleating effect, and could increase the overall degree and rate of PTT crystallization, while the addition of a compatibilizer might slightly diminish these effects. In addition, the blend with 4 wt-% compatibilizer shows the best thermal stability. Furthermore, the Izod impact strength and the tensile strength at room temperature of the blend are also markedly improved by the addition of a 4 8 wt-% compatibilizer.