Nanostructuration of Unsaturated Polyester by All‐Acrylic Block Copolymers, 1 ‐ Use of High‐Molecular‐Weight Block Copolymers

Nanostructuration of maleate and orthophthalic unsaturated polyester (UP) resins was achieved by the use of high molecular weight amphiphilic PBA‐ b ‐P(MMA‐ co ‐DMA) 2 triblock copolymers. PBA is fully immiscible in cured UP resins, and the miscibility of P(MMA‐ co ‐DMA) random copolymers can be ensured with a minimum DMA content of 12 mol‐%. When using the triblock copolymers, fully transparent and nanostructured thermosets are obtained with a minimum DMA content in the outer blocks; the value of which is higher than 12 mol‐% and depends on the UP chemical structure. Finally, the fracture toughness of nanostructured thermoset was evaluated: for a triblock copolymer content as low as 5 wt.‐%, a 50% increase of K Ic was obtained, as compared to the neat thermoset.