A probe into the status quo of interfacial adhesion in the compatibilized ternary blends with core/shell droplets: Selective versus dictated compatibilization

Abstract

A simple approach was applied to probe into the situation of interfacial adhesion in the compatibilized ternary polymer blends with core/shell morphology. The performance of compatibilization was discussed in terms of thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties analyses for blends prepared through different mixing strategies for which maleic anhydride‐grafted high‐density polyethylene (HDPE‐g‐MAH) could be localized at the interface of HDPE/poly(ethylene‐co‐vinyl alcohol) copolymer (EVOH) or HDPE/polyamide 6 (PA‐6) in their ternary blends. Two mixing strategies, one simultaneously (one‐step or selective) and two sequentially (two‐step or dictated), were performed, compared, and discussed. It was found that mixing policy (dictated or selective) significantly changes the interfacial adhesion, as signaled by variations in rheological and thermal properties. In the case of mechanical properties, facilitation of stress transfer across the matrix/shell/core interfaces was detected by calculation of semi‐experimental models' coefficients. It was found that one‐step mixing or selective localization of HDPE‐g‐MAH helps in accumulation of more compatibilizer molecules at the interface HDPE/EVOH or EVOH/PA‐6. By contrast, addition of compatibilizer to minor phase (masterbatch of EVOH and PA‐6) or to HDPE matrix alone in case of two‐step blending causes imperfect stress transfer. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45503.

Looking back to interfacial tension prediction in the compatibilized polymer blends: Discrepancies between theories and experiments

“…Quantification of interfacial adhesion has been carried out based on assessment of mechanical properties; but analyses could not principally provide a close view of events taking place in the vicinity of interface . It was also demonstrated that mixing strategy to a large extent determines interfacial adhesion promotion in the compatibilized ternary blends based on HDPE, PA‐6, and EVOH . Investigations on rheological, thermal, and mechanical behavior confirmed a facile stress transfer across the matrix/shell/core interface in the assigned system as a result of one‐step compatibilization of ternary blends that helps for selective localization of HDPE‐ g ‐MAH, as reflected theoretically in model parameters obtained for interfacial adhesion.…”

Effect of Different Compatibilization Systems on the Rheological, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Polypropylene/Polystyrene Blends

“…The dynamic deformation behavior of polymer melts is known to be a powerful tool to predict processability of materials in different manufacturing processes. In addition, the rheological properties are also very sensitive to changes in blend morphology and interaction between the polymer matrix and the dispersed phase [ 4 ].…”

“…Due to limited compatibility leading to inhomogeneous structures directly influencing the physical properties and therefore the overall performance of the material, the successful generation of combined-property polymers is not easily achieved without drawbacks [ 2 ]. Phase separation behavior is greatly influenced by interfacial tension between the polymers, their density and viscosity ratios [ 3 , 4 ]. To overcome that problem, different compatibilizing systems have been extensively studied over the last years; either motivated by the idea of generating entirely new materials [ 5 , 6 , 7 ] or the improvement of recyclability of mixed polymer waste [ 8 , 9 ].…”

Effect of Poly(Styrene‐Ethylene‐Butylene‐Styrene) Block Copolymer on Thermomechanical Properties and Morphology of Polypropylene/Poly(Styrene‐Ethylene‐Butylene‐Styrene)/Polycarbonate Ternary Blends

“…Mechanical properties of ternary blends were the subject of several publications[36,39–43]. Figure 3 shows the results of dynamic thermal‐mechanical properties of neat PP and samples C 1 ‐C 4 .…”