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Morphological properties, rheological behaviors, and phase interaction of nylon 11/polypropylene blends by in situ reactive compatibilization and dispersion through polyhydroxybutyrate
Author(s) -
Gadgeel Arjit A.,
Mhaske Shashank T.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.49728
Subject(s) - compatibilization , materials science , maleic anhydride , polypropylene , polymer blend , plastics extrusion , chemical engineering , polymer , dispersion (optics) , rheology , phase (matter) , composite material , polymer chemistry , copolymer , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , optics , engineering
The current research discusses the reactive compatibilization of nylon 11 (PA11) and polypropylene (PP) using maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP‐g‐MA) through an extruder. PP phase is dispersed in PA11 by coalescence and droplet break‐up mechanism by using polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) as a dispersion agent that induces uniform interaction between the blend components. The reactive compatibilization ensures the mixing of polymers, and the consistent interaction of phases is controlled by dispersion. All of the blends were processed through melt processing at different compositions using a twin‐screw extruder. Scanning electron microscopy was used to determine the morphologies of the binary and ternary blends. Surface tension and interfacial tension of the homopolymer characterizes the interaction of the polymers at interphase. The interaction of PHB/PA11 appeared preferable than that of PHB/PP, elaborating on the efficient dispersion and droplet formation of the PP phase. The compatibilizer maleic anhydride grafted PP (PP‐g‐MA) imparts a drastic effect on the compatibility of PA11‐PP and PA11‐PHB‐PP blends and reduces PP phase particle size, which indicates the affinity of PHB and PP. The encapsulation of PP by PHB was seen in the expectation of minimum free energy models. The rheological measurements were used to understand the phase separation within blends. These measurements were also applied to understand the interaction between PA11‐PP‐PHB phases. The modulus values and viscosity ratio of the blends were measured to follow the chain relaxation in the melt. In the Cole–Cole plot, it was found that the reduction in PP phase size influences the relaxation of chains of blends.