Effect of SEBS on the Mechanical Properties and Miscibility of Polystyrene Rich Polystyrene/ Polypropylene Blends

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sani Amril Samsudin ◽  
Azman Hassan ◽  
Munirah Mokhtar ◽  
Syed Mustafa Syed Jamaluddin

Blends of polystyrene (PS) with polypropylene (PP) are usually developed to overcome the inherent brittleness of PS. However, PS with PP are immiscible and (in the absence of a compatibiliser) incompatible. The present study investigated the effects of styrene-b (ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS) on the mechanical properties and compatibility of PS-rich PS/PP blends. Using a Brabender PL2000 twin-screw extruder, blends of PS/PP in various compositions ranging from 100-60 wt% PS with and without SEBS were prepared and injection moulded. The overall results clearly showed that the mechanical properties of PS/PP blends are dependent on blend composition (ratio of PS/PP) and SEBS content. The impact strength and elongation at break of the PS/PP blends increase with SEBS content, at the expense of tensile strength and flexural modulus. The improvements in impact strength and elongation at break with the addition of SEBS are due to the improved interfacial adhesion between the dispersed phase (PP) and matrix phase (PS). The improvement in miscibility of the PS/PP blend with the addition of SEBS is supported by DMA analysis. This showed that the 60/40 PS/PP blends possess two endothermic peaks whereas 60/40/25 PS/PP/SEBS blends have a single endothermic peak at 102 °C, indicating that they have an improved miscibility. The effectiveness of SEBS in enhancing the blends depends on the blend composition. A significant improvement was observed upon addition of more than 10 phr of SEBS into the 70/30 and 60/40 PS/PP blends, but not much improvement in the case of the 90/10 and 80/20 PS/PP blends. However, a higher SEBS content is more effective at higher PS contents, as illustrated by the 90/10/25 PS/PP/SEBS blends having higher impact strengths than 60/40/25 PS/PP/SEBS. The optimum blend, based on achieving a balance between toughness (impact strength) and stiffness (flexural modulus), is 90/10/25 PS/PP/SEBS, followed by 80/20/25 PS/PP/SEBS.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 5317
Author(s):  
Rafał Malinowski ◽  
Aneta Raszkowska-Kaczor ◽  
Krzysztof Moraczewski ◽  
Wojciech Głuszewski ◽  
Volodymyr Krasinskyi ◽  
...  

The need for the development of new biodegradable materials and modification of the properties the current ones possess has essentially increased in recent years. The aim of this study was the comparison of changes occurring in poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) due to its modification by high-energy electron beam derived from a linear electron accelerator, as well as the addition of natural fibers in the form of cut hemp fibers. Changes to the fibers structure in the obtained composites and the geometrical surface structure of sample fractures with the use of scanning electron microscopy were investigated. Moreover, the mechanical properties were examined, including tensile strength, elongation at break, flexural modulus and impact strength of the modified PCL. It was found that PCL, modified with hemp fibers and/or electron radiation, exhibited enhanced flexural modulus but the elongation at break and impact strength decreased. Depending on the electron radiation dose and the hemp fibers content, tensile strength decreased or increased. It was also found that hemp fibers caused greater changes to the mechanical properties of PCL than electron radiation. The prepared composites exhibited uniform distribution of the dispersed phase in the polymer matrix and adequate adhesion at the interface between the two components.


Author(s):  
Zahid Iqbal Khan ◽  
Zurina Binti Mohamad ◽  
Abdul Razak Bin Rahmat ◽  
Unsia Habib ◽  
Nur Amira Sahirah Binti Abdullah

This work explores a novel blend of recycled polyethylene terephthalate/polyamide 11 (rPET/PA11). The blend of rPET/PA11 was introduced to enhance the mechanical properties of rPET at various ratios. The work’s main advantage was to utilize rPET in thermoplastic form for various applications. Three different ratios, i.e. 10, 20 and 30 wt.% of PA11 blend samples, were prepared using a twin-screw extruder and injection moulding machine. The mechanical properties were examined in terms of tensile, flexural and impact strength. The tensile strength of rPET was improved more than 50%, while the increase in tensile strain was observed 42.5% with the addition of 20 wt.% of PA11. The improved properties of the blend were also confirmed by the flexural strength of the blends. The flexural strength was increased from 27.9 MPa to 48 MPa with the addition of 30 wt.% PA11. The flexural strain of rPET was found to be 1.1%. However, with the addition of 10, 20 and 30 wt.% of PA11, the flexural strain was noticed as 1.7, 2.1, and 3.9% respectively. The impact strength of rPET/PA11 at 20 wt.% PA11 was upsurged from 110.53 to 147.12 J/m. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed a dispersed PA11 domain in a continuous rPET matrix morphology of the blends. This work practical implication would lead to utilization of rPET in automobile, packaging, and various industries.


Natural fibers from plants are gaining importance and may substitute wood in the production of wood plastic composites (WPC). To ensure continuity of fiber supply and sustainability of WPC industries, fibers of various types could be mixed together to obtain Mix WPC. However, research need to be carried out to identify the contribution of different fiber type collectively to the mechanical properties of Mix natural fiber polymer composite (NFPC). In this study, preliminary work on the use of natural fibre (NF) such as kenaf, sugar palm and pineapple leaf fibers in the preparation of Mix NFPC were carried out. Four different fiber mix samples with different fiber ratio and size were formulated using polypropylene (PP) as the polymer matrix. Montmorrilonite (MMT) filler was added at constant amount for enhancement of composite mechanical properties. Samples were mixed and prepared using a twin screw extruder and mini injection moulding resepectively. Individual fibers and NFPC prepared were characterized using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Tensile, flexural and impact strength of the composites were determined. Generally, it was found that addition of fiber mix at 50% fiber loading enhance the tensile and flexural strength of the various NFPC with minimal exceptions. The impact strength of the composites were comparable to that of blank PP implying that addition of fiber gives additional advantage besides being eco-friendly. It was also found that higher kenaf loading and different size of fiber mix contribute positively to the various strengths measured. In addition to that, composition of individual fibers also contribute to the mechanical properties of the NFPCs


2011 ◽  
Vol 366 ◽  
pp. 310-313
Author(s):  
Ming Tao Run ◽  
Meng Yao ◽  
Bing Tao Xing ◽  
Wen Zhou

The rheology, morphology and mechanical properties of the PA6/PP-g-MAH/POE blends prepared by twin-screw extruder were studied by rheometer, scanning electron microscopy, universal tester and impact tester, respectively. The results suggest that the impact strength is improved by the POE acting as a toughening agent, while the compatibility of PA6 and POE is improved by the compatibilizer of PP-g-MAH. Furthermore, the PP-g-MAH component also acts as a reinforcing agent for decreasing the strength depression induced by the POE component. When POE content is about 9 wt% and PP-g-MAH content is about 10% in blends, the blend has the maximum tensile strength and impact strength. All melts of PA6/PP-g-MAH/POE blends are pseudo-plastic fluids. Both the POE and PP-g-MAH components can increase the apparent viscosity of the melt due to their facility of the linear molecular.


2015 ◽  
Vol 735 ◽  
pp. 70-74
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Mohammed Inuwa ◽  
Azman Hassan ◽  
Sani Amril Samsudin

This work investigates the effect of compatibilizer concentration on the mechanical properties of compatibilized polyethylene terephthalate (PET) /polypropylene (PP) blends. A blend containing 70 % (wt) PET, 30 % (wt) PP and 5 - 15 phr compatibilizers were compounded using counter rotating twin screw extruder and fabricated into standard test samples using injection molding. The compatibilizer used is styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene grafted maleic anhydride triblock copolymer (SEBS-g-MAH). Morphological studies show that the particle size of the dispersed PP phase is dependent on the compatibilizer content up to 10 phr. Impact strength and elongation at break showed maximum values with the addition of 10 phr SEBS-g-MAH and a corresponding decrease in flexural and young’s moduli; and strengths.. Overall the mechanical properties of PET/PP blends depend on the control of the morphology of the blend and can be achieved by effective compatibilization using 10 phr SEBS-g-MAH.


2021 ◽  
Vol 877 ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Prathumrat Nuyang ◽  
Atiwat Wiriya-Amornchai ◽  
Watthanaphon Cheewawuttipong

The effect of compatibilizer agent was studied when adding Aluminum fine powder (Al) to reinforce in Polypropylene (PP) by compared between polymer matrix composites (PMCs) and PMCs added Polypropylene graft maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH).The average particle size of the aluminum fine powder was around 75 μm filled in polypropylene with different proportions of 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10wt%. PMCs were prepared using the internal mixer. The results found that when the amount of aluminum fine powder increased, the mechanical properties had changed, i.e., tensile strength, and Young’s Modulus increased, while the impact strength and elongation at break decreased. But, when adding compatibilizer 1wt% it was found that the trend of tensile strength, and Young’s Modulus increased that compared with non-compatibilizer, but the impact strength and elongation at break decreased. The part of the morphology of PMCs with non-compatibilizer was found that the particle of aluminum fine powder dispersed in the matrix phase, but there were many microvoids between filler and matrix. But, PMCs with compatibilizer caused the microvoids between filler and matrix to be reduced.


2013 ◽  
Vol 781-784 ◽  
pp. 390-394
Author(s):  
Xiao Li Song ◽  
Ying Chen ◽  
Yu Zhi Xu ◽  
Chun Peng Wang

Polyacrylate microsphere with different core/shell ratio (mass ratio) were prepared by semi-continuous seed emulsion copolymerization using butyl acrylate (BA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as main monomers,which were used to toughen polylactic acid (PLA) after drying. The effect of core/shell ratio of polyacrylate toughening agent (ACR) on mechanical properties of PLA was studied. The results showed that when adding 8wt%ACR, the impact strength and elongation at break of PLA were both first increased and then decreased as increasing of core/shell ratio, while the tensile strength loss of PLA was little changed. It is found that the impact strength was increased about 24% than that of neat PLA as well as the elongation at break was increased from 2% to 12% when the ratio was 7/3, which was the best ratio.


2013 ◽  
Vol 712-715 ◽  
pp. 195-198
Author(s):  
Dong Mei Bao ◽  
Ji Ping Liu ◽  
Xiang Yang Hao

The organically modified montmorrillonite (OMMT)/phosphorus polymeic flame retardant (PFR)/polyamide 6(PA6) nanocomposites were prepared via melt intercalation on a twin-screw extruder. The structure formed in nanocomposite system was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Properties such as flame retardancy, notched impact strength, tensile strength, elongation at break and flexural modulus were studied by limited oxygen index (LOI) approach, UL94, and mechanical property test. The results of the studies indicated that flame retardancy and mechanical properties of PA6 nanocomposites were all reinforced due to addition of OMMT and PFR.


2014 ◽  
Vol 893 ◽  
pp. 254-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Tu Lin ◽  
Qing Rong Qian ◽  
Li Ren Xiao ◽  
Qiao Ling Huang ◽  
Li Zeng ◽  
...  

Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) grafted ethyleneoctene multi-block copolymer (OBC) in the presence of the styrene (St) monomer (OBC-g-(GMA-co-St)) was prepared and then used as a compatibilizer for recycled Poly (ethylene terephthalate)/Polypropylene (R-PET/PP) blends. The morphological, rheological and mechanical properties of the blends were investigated. The results show that the compatibilization between R-PET and PP blends is improved by the introduction of OBC-g-(GMA-co-St). The SEM results show that all R-PET/PP blends exhibit a matrix-dispersed droplet type morphology, and the addition of OBC-g-(GMA-co-St) results in a finer morphology and better adhension between the phases. In addition, the storage moduli (G'), loss moduli (G") and the Charpy impact strength of the blends increase with increasing OBC-g-(GMA-co-St) content, while the the flexural strength decreases slightly.


2014 ◽  
Vol 554 ◽  
pp. 62-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noora Tiqah Mohamad Fauzi ◽  
Zurina Mohamad

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of sepiolite concentration (2-10 phr) on the mechanical properties of polyamide 6 (PA6) / ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) blend at the ratio 80/20. Twin screw extruder and injection moulding machine were used to prepare the samples. The strength and modulus of flexural was increased until 6 phr of sepiolite content. On the other hand, the impact strength of PA6/EVA/sepiolite composite was decreased gradually as sepiolite content increased.


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