Polymer Blends: State of the Art, New Challenges, and Opportunities

Abstract

A polymer blend is a mixture of two or more polymers that have been blended together to create a new material with different physical properties. Generally, there are five main types of polymer blend: thermoplastic-thermoplastic blends; thermoplastic-rubber blends; thermoplastic-thermosetting blends; rubberthermosetting blends; and polymer-filler blends, all of which have been extensively studied. Polymer blending has attracted much attention as an easy and cost-effective method of developing polymeric materials that have versatility for commercial applications. In other words, the properties of the blends can be manipulated according to their end use by correct selection of the component polymers [1]. Today, the market pressure is so high that producers of plastics need to provide better and more economic materials with superior combinations of properties as a replacement for the traditional metals and polymers. Although, plastic raw materials are more costly than metals in terms of weight, they are more economical in terms of the product cost. Moreover, polymers are corrosion-resistant, possess a light weight with good toughness (which is important for good fuel economy in automobiles and aerospace applications), and are used for creating a wide range of goods that include household plastic products, automotive interior and exterior components, biomedical devices, and aerospace applications [2].The development and commercialization of new polymer usually requires many years and is also extremely costly. However, by employing a polymer blending processwhich is also very cheap to operateit is often possible to reduce the time to commercialization to perhaps two to three years [2]. As part of the replacement of traditional polymers, the production of polymer blends represents half of all plastics produced in 2010. Today, the polymer industry is becoming increasingly sophisticated, with ultra-high-performance injection molding machines and extruders available that allow phase-separations and viscosity changes to be effectively detected or manipulated during the processing stages [3]. Whilst this modern blending technology can also greatly extend the performance capabilities of

Biodegradable Polyphosphazene-Based Blends for Regenerative Engineering

“…Depending on applications, properties of interest are found either in compatible or miscible blends. Both of these blends exhibit a single phase due to strong interaction between component polymers[53, 54]. Blending to obtain a compatible or miscible polymer blend is a complex process that involves the act of mixing two high-molecular weight polymers with different interfacial energies.…”

Aramid–multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites: effect of compatibilization through oligomer wrapping of the nanotubes

“…The D band observed at 1340 cm −1 corresponds to the de‐bundling of MWCNT aggregates by oxidation or reaction with amide oligomers. The third band appearing at 2670 cm −1 is due to double resonance process that can be observed even for the defect‐free sp carbons. The extent of exfoliation in CNTs is estimated from a comparison of the ratio of the intensities of D and G bands.…”

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy for Polymer Blends

“…The understanding of miscibility of more than one polymer system is crucial for final product performance. By using some additives, a heterogeneous polymer can be converted into homogeneous polymer and hence the performance can be easily altered for desired applications [1]. The properties of the polymer blend depends heavily on the final morphology of the individual component, their miscibility, and processing condition during the blending preparation.…”

“…The selection of polymers to be mixed for blending depends on many factors and most critical of them is the distribution of component polymers inside the matrix. Polymer blends can be divided into two broad categories, one being homogeneous blend and other heterogeneous blend [1]. In homogeneous blend, the polymers are mixed at molecular level by having high miscibility whereas in heterogeneous blend, the polymers are phase separated.…”

“…Commercial reach of polymer materials drives the blending technology where more than one polymer is mixed together to have improved performance at a lower cost [1,2]. The selection of polymers to be mixed for blending depends on many factors and most critical of them is the distribution of component polymers inside the matrix.…”