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In situ compatibilization of polystyrene/polyolefin elastomer blends by the Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction
Author(s) -
Guo Zhenghong,
Tong Lifang,
Fang Zhengping
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.1896
Subject(s) - compatibilization , polyolefin , materials science , polystyrene , polymer chemistry , gel permeation chromatography , aluminium chloride , thermoplastic elastomer , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , polymer blend , elastomer , reactive extrusion , friedel–crafts reaction , chemical engineering , copolymer , composite material , polymer , chemistry , catalysis , organic chemistry , aluminium , layer (electronics) , engineering
Blends of polystyrene (PS) with polyolefin elastomer (POE) were prepared by a reactive extrusion method. In order to increase the compatibility of the two blending components, a Lewis acid catalyst, aluminium chloride (AlCl 3 ), was adopted to initiate the Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction. Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of the PS/POE/AlCl 3 blends extracted with butanone verified the graft structure between the PS and POE. Because the in situ generated PS‐ graft ‐POE copolymers acted as compatibilizers, the mechanical properties of PS/POE blends were greatly improved. For example, after compatibilization, the Charpy impact strength of an 80/20 (wt%) PS/POE blend was increased from 6.29 to 8.50 kJ m −2 . Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the size of the droplets decreased from 9–10 µm to less than 2 µm with the addition of AlCl 3 . Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) showed competition between the grafting reaction and the degradation of blending components in the presence of AlCl 3 . Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry