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Mechanical, dynamic mechanical properties and thermal stability of fluorocarbon elastomer–liquid crystalline polymer blends
Author(s) -
Kumar E. Shiva,
Das C.K.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.20102
Subject(s) - materials science , elastomer , dynamic mechanical analysis , composite material , thermogravimetric analysis , thermal stability , crystallinity , glass transition , ultimate tensile strength , dynamic modulus , polymer , chemical engineering , engineering
Blends of fluorocarbon elastomer (FKM) and liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) have been prepared by the melt mixing technique. Processing studies indicated the increase in viscosity with the addition of LCP. The tensile strength, tear strength, and modulus of the elastomer are greatly improved by the addition of the LCP. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results showed that the shift in the glass transition temperature ( T g ) of the elastomer with the addition of LCP and the storage modulus of the blends increased above the T g of FKM, whereas decreases below the T g of the elastomer were seen with up to 20 wt% LCP; this suggests that the LCP acts as an effective reinforcing agent above the T g of FKM. From the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermogravimetry (DTG), we found that the thermal stability of the elastomer enhances by blending with the LCP. The weight loss and the weight loss rate of the FKM decrease enormously with the addition of LCP. From the X‐ray diffraction (XRD) study, it has been observed that the LCP acts as a nucleating agent by increasing the crystallinity of the blend. The failure mechanism of the blends was studied using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). It suggested that the failure occurred in the blends; mainly due to the pull out of the fibrils from the matrix phase and due to lower interfacial adhesion between the LCP phase and the elastomer. POLYM. COMPOS. 26:306–315, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers