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Toward a high‐impact isotactic polystyrene
Author(s) -
Cazzaniga Luigi A.,
Cohen Robert E.
Publication year - 1994
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.760341209
Subject(s) - materials science , tacticity , polystyrene , polybutadiene , copolymer , composite material , toughness , scanning electron microscope , natural rubber , crystallinity , transmission electron microscopy , brittleness , polymer , polymerization , nanotechnology
Brittle isotactic polystyrene has been toughened by the presence of emulsified rubber particles. Semicrystalline diblock copolymers of isotactic polystyrene and polybutadiene functioned successfully as emulsifying agents, as revealed by the results of scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Semiquantitative measures of the toughness of the various materials were obtained via a home‐built micromechanical testing device. The minimum amount of copolymer required to achieve emulsified morphologies and significant toughness depended on the thermal history of the material being tested.