A new strategy to compatibilize immiscible blends is proposed, using graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets taking advantage of their unique amphiphilic structures. When 0.5 or 1 wt% GOs were incorporated in immiscible nylon 6/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) (90/10 wt%) blends, the dimension of PVDF dispersed particles was markedly reduced and became more uniform, revealing a well‐defined compatibilization effect of GOs on the immiscible blends. Correspondingly, the ductility of the compatibilized blends increased several times compared with uncompatibilized immiscible blends. In order to explore the underlying compatibilization mechanism, Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectra were applied to suggest that the edge polar groups of GOs can form hydrogen bonds with nylon 6 while the basal plane of GOs can interact with electron‐withdrawing fluorine on PVDF chains leading to the so‐called charge‐transfer C–F bonding. In this case, GOs exhibit favorable interactions with both nylon 6 and PVDF phase, therefore stabilizing the interface during GO migrations from PVDF/GO masterbatch to nylon 6 phase, which can minimize the interfacial tension and finally lead to compatibilization effects. Obviously, this work may open a broad prospect for GOs to be widely applied as a new compatibilizer in industrial fields. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry

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In this work, a mutually miscible third polymer, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), was incorporated into an immiscible poly(vinylidene fluoride)/polylactide (PVDF/PLA) blend (weight ratio 70:30). It was found that incorporation of PMMA in an appropriate amount (30-60 wt%) induced a marked improvement in fracture toughness. A five times enlargement of the elongation at break can be achieved by introducing 30 wt% PMMA. In order to understand the underlying toughening mechanism, SEM, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), XRD and DSC were applied to study the variations in morphology, the interaction between the three components and the crystallization behavior. SEM micrographs showed that the PMMA preferred to locate at the interface of PVDF and PLA, which was attributed to the mutual miscibility of PVDF with PMMA and PLA. Furthermore, a variety of thermal characteristics such as T g and T m induced by the entanglement of PVDF, PMMA and PLA at the interface were illustrated in DMA and DSC curves. Obviously, the interface consisting of the entanglement of PVDF, PLA and PMMA acted as a linkage to improve interfacial adhesion, which was regarded as the main toughening mechanism. This work provides a potential strategy to realize the interfacial enhancement of an immiscible blend via the incorporation of a mutually miscible third polymer.