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An effective method of processing immiscible polymer blends into strong fiber
Author(s) -
Shi Jing,
Fang Xudong,
Maffe Adam P.,
Yao Donggang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.25205
Subject(s) - materials science , spinning , polypropylene , polystyrene , polymer , compatibilization , polymer blend , composite material , fiber , melt spinning , phase (matter) , synthetic fiber , jet (fluid) , polymer science , copolymer , thermodynamics , chemistry , physics , organic chemistry
A unique methodology employing a “nearly co‐continuous morphology” for processing immiscible polymers into strong fiber is presented, and an immiscible polypropylene/polystyrene (PP/PS) blend is used as a model system to demonstrate the effectiveness of this methodology. The “nearly co‐continuous morphology” is easier to obtain than the fully co‐continuous structure, and yet, it provides an engineering solution to the production of strong fiber from an immiscible polymer blend. In addition, a process different from traditional melt spinning is used to prepare fiber with good mechanical properties. Traditional melt spinning involves large jet stretch and therefore introduces large interfacial orientation but little molecular orientation in polymer blends. To address this issue, the PP/PS blend is spun with nearly zero jet stretch and after solidification undergoes hot drawing at temperature close to the glass transition temperature of PS. This process sequence imparts a large degree of molecular orientation to the PP phase and produces a strong fiber. The proposed methodology can be extended to other blend systems and provides a potential route for directly recycling commingled polymer waste without preseparation or compatibilization. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:2052–2061, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers