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Role of Interface Rheology in Altering the Onset of Co‐Continuity in Nanoparticle‐Filled Polymer Blends
Author(s) -
Filippone Giovanni,
Romeo Giovanni,
Acierno Domenico
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201000343
Subject(s) - materials science , rheology , high density polyethylene , nanoparticle , polymer blend , polymer , chemical engineering , morphology (biology) , adsorption , composite material , polyethylene , copolymer , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , biology , engineering , genetics
Developing co‐continuity in a polymer blend determines a multiphase system with enhanced properties which originate from the synergism of its constituents. Filling a blend with nanoparticles is a promising route to guide its morphology and eventually affect the co‐continuity transition. We add different kinds of nanoparticles to an HDPE/PEO blend to study how they affect the morphology of the blend as function of their surface properties and form factor. We find that PEO drop size is drastically reduced by particles adsorbed at the HDPE/PEO interface. However, we show that a drastic shifting of the co‐continuity threshold may only be achieved when particles affect the rheology of the interface.