Reactive Compatibilization of Polyamide 6/Olefin Block Copolymer Blends: Phase Morphology, Rheological Behavior, Thermal Behavior, and Mechanical Properties

In this study, the morphology, rheological behavior, thermal behavior, and mechanical properties of a polyamide 6 (PA6) and olefin block copolymer (OBC) blend compatibilized with maleic anhydride-grafted polyethylene-octene copolymer (POE-g-MAH) were investigated. The morphological observations showed that the addition of POE-g-MAH enhanced the OBC particle dispersion in the PA6 matrix, suggesting a better interfacial compatibility between the pure PA6 and OBC. The results of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis and the Molau test confirmed the compatibilization reactions between POE-g-MAH and PA6. The rheological test revealed that the melt viscosity, storage modulus (G’), and loss modulus (G”) of the compatibilized PA6/OBC blends at low frequency were increased with the increasing POE-g-MAH content. The thermal analysis indicated that the addition of OBC had little effect on the crystallization behavior of PA6, while the incorporation of POE-g-MAH at high content (7 wt%) in the PA6/OBC blend restricted the crystallization of PA6. In addition, the compatibilized blends exhibited a significant enhancement in impact strength compared to the uncompatibilized PA6/OBC blend, in which the highest value of impact strength obtained at a POE-g-MAH content of 7 wt% was about 194% higher than that of pure PA6 under our experimental conditions

Polylactic Acid/Cerium Fluoride Films: Effects of Cerium Fluoride on Mechanical Properties, Crystallinity, Thermal Behavior, and Transparency

PLA is widely used in the field of disposable products for its good transparency, high strength, high modulus, and good processing performance. However, the crystallization rate and crystallinity of PLA are weak. In actual production, the PLA products that are typically obtained are amorphous with poor heat resistance, which greatly limits the application range of PLA products. Finding an effective nucleating agent to improve the transparency of PLA has been a hot topic in research. This study found that Cerium fluoride (CeF3) can effectively improve the crystallinity of PLA/CeF3 (P/F) films. When the content of CeF3 in PLA was 1 wt %, the retention ratio of visible light transmittance was 82.36%, the crystallinity was 29.8%, and the tensile strength was 59.92 MPa. Compared to pure PLA, the crystallinity of P/F1 increased by 56% and tensile strength increased by 8.76%. This study provided an alternative scheme that maintained the PLA film’s transparency and improved the crystallinity of PLA, which significantly expanded the application of PLA