• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.269-273
• /
• 1999

Immiscible polymer blends containing a liquid crystalline polymer dispersed phase can be described by existing blend theories when the dispersed-phase droplets are large relative to the orientation correlation length ("domain size") of the LCP. There does not appear to be an interfacial contribution to the linear viscoelastic properties of the blend from droplets smaller than the correlation length. Polyester blends, where interfacial interactions occur between the LCP and the matrix, exhibit a reduction in viscosity to below the viscosity of either component at low shear rates, where the droplet morphology is spherical. These anomalies cannot be explained in the context of existing theory.ng theory.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.135-140
• /
• 2004

Morphological and rheological properties of the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) blends were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and advanced rheometric expansion system (ARES). From the SEM results, the PMMA-PS blends showed dispersed morphology and the particle size of the dispersed phase was quite small (0.1~0.6 $\mu\textrm{m}$ compared with other immiscible polymer blends. Values of the interfacial tension of the PMMA-PS blend were obtained from the Choi-Schowalter and the Palierne emulsion models using the storage modulus of the PMMA and PS, and found to be 1.0 and 2.0 mN/m, respectively. The interfacial tension between the PMMA and PS was also calculated from the Flory-Huggins polymer-polymer interaction parameter ($\chi$) and found to be from 0.98 to 1.86 mN/m depending on the molecular weight and composition. Comparing the values of the interfacial tension from the Flory-Huggins polymer-polymer interaction parameter and the values measured by oscillatory rheometer, it is suggested that the interfacial tension of the PMMA-PS blend obtained from the polymer-polymer interaction parameter are in good agreement with the values obtained by rheological measurements.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.71-77
• /
• 2005

We investigated thermal, rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of a binary blend of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene succinate adipate) (PBSA). The blends were extruded and their molded properties were examined. DSC thermograms of blends indicated that the thermal properties of PLA did not change noticeably with the amount of PBSA, but thermogravimetric analysis showed that thermal stability of the blends was lower than that of pure PLA and PBSA. Immiscibility was checked with thermal data. The rheological properties of the blends changed remarkably with composition. The tensile strength and modulus of blends decreased with PBSA content. Interestingly, however, the impact strength of PLA/PBSA (80/20) blend was seriously increased higher than the rule of mixture. Morphology of the blends showed a typical sea and island structure of immiscible blend. The effect of the blend composition on the biodegradation was also investigated. In the early stage of the degradation test, the highest rate was observed for the blend containing $80wt\%$ PBSA.

• Macromolecular Research
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.209-214
• /
• 2002

Miscibility of polysulfone (PSf) with various hydrophilic copolymers was explored. Among these blends, PSf gives homogeneous mixtures with poly(1-vinylpyrrolidone-co-styrene) copolymers [P(VP-S)] when these copolymers contained VP from 68 to 88 wt%. Microporous membranes for the ultrafiltration process were prepared from PSf blends with P(VP-S) copolymers. The membranes prepared from the PSf/(VP-S) blends exhibited higher water flux than the membranes prepared from PSf irrespective of the VP content. The solute rejection examined with the membranes fabricated from the miscible blends was similar to that of PSf membrane. However, the solute rejection examined with the membranes fabricated from the immiscible blends was lower than that of PSf membranes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Rheology Conference
• /
• 2002.05a
• /
• pp.129-132
• /
• 2002

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.26 no.1
• /
• pp.145-151
• /
• 2002

Thermoplastic starch(TPS) was prepared from mixing starch and glycerol by twin extruder. The blends were then prepared from high density polyethylene(HDPE) and TPS. Mechanical properties, thermal properties, and morphology of the blends were investigated. Their biodegradability was also studied by using aerobic composting method(ISO14855). Tensile strength, modulus and elongation at break decreased as the content of TPS increased. In particular elongation at break decreased rapidly even at the lower content of TPS. The melting temperatures of the blends were not changed, which showed that HDPE and TPS were immiscible. The morphology of the fractured surface of blend films was investigated by scanning electron microscopy(SEM). It was found that phases were separated. After composting for 45days, the biodegradability of the blends increased as the content of TPS increased.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.580-585
• /
• 2011

This article aims to enhance the biodegradability and environment-friendliness of petroleum based biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-co-succinate-co-terephthalate)(PBAST) by blending chemically modified thermoplastic starch(CMPS). CMPS is a kind of bio-based biodegradable resin which is manufactured by reacting starch with maleic anhydride(MA) in the presence of a plasticizer and a free radical initiator. The characteristic properties of PBAST/CMPS blends were investigated by observing their morphology, thermal, mechanical properties, and biodegradability. The good interfacial adhesion between the phases examined by SEM revealed that PBAST/CMPS blends were compatible blends. The tensile strength and elongation decreased with increasing CMPS content, while modulus increased. The biodegradability of the blends was much higher than that of pristine PBAST and increased with increasing CMPS contents.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 1996.04a
• /
• pp.55-56
• /
• 1996

Heterophase polymer system has been attractive for a potential applicability to gas separation membrane material. It has been known that there is a trade-off between gas permeability and its selectivity in common polymers. Therefore, the heterophase polymer can be an alternative for a gas separation membrane material because its transport properties can be readily controlled by blending of two different polymers. The transport properties of immiscible polymer blends strongly depend upon the intrinsic transport properties of corresponding polymers. Another important factor to determine the transport properties is their morphology: volume fraction, size and shape of dispersed phase. Although the effect of the volume fraction of the dispersed phase on the transport properties has been widely investigated, the size and shape effects have been paid attention very much. In an immiscible polymer blend of two polymers, its morphology is primarily controlled by its volume fraction of dispersed phase. Therefore, the effect of the size of the dispersed phase can be hardly seen. Therefore, a block copolymer has been commonly employed to control their morphology when each block is miscible with one or the other phase. In this work, gas transport properties will be measured by varying the morphology of the heterophase polymer membrane. The transport properties will be interpreted in terms of their morphology. The effect of the volume fraction of the PI phase and, in particular, its size effect will be investigated experimentally and theoretically.

• Fibers and Polymers
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.270-274
• /
• 2004

Blends of poly(l-lactide) (PLA) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) were prepared by melt mixing in order to improve the brittleness of PLA. A reactive compatibilizer with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), PE-GMA, was required as a compatibilizer due to the immiscibility between PLA and LDPE. It contributes to reduce the domain size of dispersed phase and enhance the tensile properties of PLA/LDPE blends, especially for PLA matrix blends. A reaction product between PLA and PE-GMA, which was formed during melt-mixing and considered to act as a reactive compatibilizer, was characterized using $ ^1H-NMR$ spectroscopy.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.38 no.5
• /
• pp.613-619
• /
• 2014

The polypropylene/polyamide elastomer (PP/PAE) blends were prepared by melt mixing. PP and PAE in PP/ PAE were immiscible completely. The size of PAE domains was large and the clear gap in the interface between PP and PAE existed, which did not meet the conditions enhancing toughness of polymers by elastomer. Therefore, maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MP) was used to improve the miscibility between PP and PAE. The miscibility between PP and PAE was improved and the size of dispersed phase PAE decreased by introducing MP. The crystallization of PP became easier by introducing PAE as a nucleating agent. With the increase of PAE content, the melt-crystallization temperatures of PP components in PP/PAE/MP blends increased gradually. The melt-crystallization of the polytetramethylene oxide segment of PAE component in PP/PAE blends were hampered by PP component. In addition, PAE can enhance significantly the toughness of PP, and the tensile strength and modulus did not decrease.