A comparison between the morphology of semicrystalline polymer blends of poly(ε-caprolactone)/poly(vinyl methyl ether) and poly(ε-caprolactone)/(styrene-acrylonitrile)

The morphology of polymer blends of poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) is compared with that of PCL and a random copolymer of styrene and acrylonitrile (SAN). The main objective is to determine the influence of the glass transition temperature of the amorphous component (Tg,a) on the morphology of the semicrystalline polymer blends. These blends represent the two extreme cases corresponding to Tc < Tg,a and Tc > Tg,a, where Tc is the crystallization temperature. The morphology of these blends, with PVME and SAN representing the amorphous components, have been studied by small angle X-ray scattering. For both blends the long period increases with the addition of amorphous polymer, which is a strong indication for an interlamellar morphology. D.s.c. experiments, including enthalpy relaxation, are used to investigate the crystallinity and the interphases. The overall amount of crystallinity in both blends decreases with increasing content of amorphous polymer. However, the fraction of PCL that crystallizes decreases in PCL/SAN and increases slightly in PCL/PVME. Apparently, the addition of the low Tg,a PVME improves the crystallization of PCL in accordance with a simple Gamblers Ruin Model type argument. The high Tg,a of SAN means this does not occur in PCL/SAN blends. Conventional d.s.c. experiments show an interphase of pure amorphous PCL in PCL/SAN blends and enthalpy relaxation experiments demonstrate its presence in PCL/PVME blends as well.

Surface segregation of conformationally asymmetric polymer blends

We have generalized the Edwards' method of collective description of dense polymer systems in terms of effective potentials to polymer blends in the presence of a surface. With this method we have studied conformationally asymmetric athermic polymer blends in the presence of a hard wall to the first order in effective potentials. For polymers with the same gyration radius $R_g$ but different statistical segment lengths $l_{A}$ and $l_{B}$ the excess concentration of stiffer polymers at the surface is derived as % \delta \rho _{A}(z=0)\sim (l_{B}^{-2}-l_{A}^{-2}){\ln (}R_{g}^{2}/l_{c}^{2}{)%}, where $l_{c}$ is a local length below of which the incompressibility of the polymer blend is violated. For polymer blends differing only in degrees of polymerization the shorter polymer enriches the wall.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, revtex

Approach for achieving flame retardancy while retaining physical properties in a compatible polymer matrix

The invention provides polymer blends containing polyhydroxyamide and one or more flammable polymers. The polymer blends are flame retardant and have improved durability and heat stability compared to the flammable polymer portion of the blends. Articles containing the polymer blends are also provided

Approach for achieving flame retardancy while retaining physical properties in a compatible polymer matrix

The invention provides polymer blends containing polyhydroxyamide and one or more flammable polymers. The polymer blends are flame retardant and have improved durability and heat stability compared to the flammable polymer portion of the blends. Articles containing the polymer blends are also provided

Density Functional Theory for Block Copolymer Melts and Blends

We derive an expression for the free energy of the blends of block copolymers expressed as a functional of the density distribution of the monomer of each block. The expression is a generalization of the Flory-Huggins-de Gennes theory for homo polymer blends, and also a generalization of the Ohta-Kawasaki theory for the melts of diblock copolymers. The expression can be used for any blends of homopolymers and block copolymers of any topological structure. The expression gives a fast and stable computational method to calculate the micro and macro phase separation of the blends of homopolymers and block copolymers.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, will appear in Macromolecule

Eco-friendly approach and potential biodegradable polymer matrix for WPC composite materials in outdoor application

Blends based on high density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly(lactic) acid (PLA) with different ratios of both polymers were produced: a blend with equal amounts of HDPE and PLA, hence 50 wt.% each, proved to be a useful compromise, allowing a high amount of bio-derived charge without this being too detrimental for mechanical properties and considering its possibility to biodegradation behaviour in outdoor application. In this way, an optimal blend suitable to produce a composite with cellulosic fillers is proposed. In the selected polymer blend, wood flour (WF) was added as natural filler in the proportion of 20, 30 and 40 wt.%, considering as 100 the weight of the polymer blend matrix. Two compatibilizers to modify both HDPE-PLA blend and wood-flour/polymer interfaces i.e. polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride and a random copolymer of ethylene and glycidyl methacrylate. The most suitable percentage of compatibilizer for HDPE-PLA blends appears to be 3 wt.%, which was selected also for use with wood flour. In order to evaluate properties of blends and composites tensile tests, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, thermo-gravimetric analyses and infrared spectroscopy have been performed. Wood flour seems to affect heavy blend behaviour in process production of material suggesting that future studies are needed to reduce defectiveness