Compatibility Compatibilization

UHMWPE Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene VDF-HFA Copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and hexafluoro acetone VDF-TFE Copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and tetrafluoro ethylene VLDPE Very low-density polyethylene compat. Compatibilization, compatibilized, etc. cone. Concentration... 

Mechanical compatibility/compatibility Compatibility is a general term used to imply useful properties of a polymer blend. Generally, the mechanical properties are employed as a reference to the degree of compatibility. Compatibilization of incompatible polymer blends is a major area of research and development. The degree of compatibility is generally related to the level of adhesion between the phases and the ability to transmit stress across the interface. 

Compatibility tests Compatibility value C o mp atib ill 2 ati o n Compatibilizers... 

Miscibility or compatibility provided by the compatibilizer or TLCP itself can affect the dimensional stability of in situ composites. The feature of ultra-high modulus and low viscosity melt of a nematic liquid crystalline polymer is suitable to induce greater dimensional stability in the composites. For drawn amorphous polymers, if the formed articles are exposed to sufficiently high temperatures, the extended chains are retracted by the entropic driving force of the stretched backbone, similar to the contraction of the stretched rubber network [61,62]. The presence of filler in the extruded articles significantly reduces the total extent of recoil. This can be attributed to the orientation of the fibers in the direction of drawing, which may act as a constraint for a certain amount of polymeric material surrounding them. 

Asaletha and coworkers [12,22] further studied the compatibilizing effect of NR-g-PS in NR-PS blends. NR-PS blend is incompatible and immiscible and its compatibility can be improved by the addition of the... 

Chu et al. [24] correlated viscosity-morphology and compatibility of PS-PB blends. The effect of styrene-butadiene triblock copolymer in PS-PB was studied, and it was found that the domain size decreases with an increase of compatibilizer loading. The blending methods influenced the morphology due to the difference in the extent of mixing. 

Compatibility and various other properties such as morphology, crystalline behavior, structure, mechanical properties of natural rubber-polyethylene blends were investigated by Qin et al. [39]. Polyethylene-b-polyiso-prene acts as a successful compatibilizer here. Mechanical properties of the blends were improved upon the addition of the block copolymer (Table 12). The copolymer locates at the interface, and, thus, reduces the interfacial tension that is reflected in the mechanical properties. As the amount of graft copolymer increases, tensile strength and elongation at break increase and reach a leveling off. 

Improvement in the compatibility of NBR-PP blends by various compatibilizers was reported by Rader and Sabet [40]. The effect of different compatibilizers on the properties of NBR-PP blends is given in Table 13. 

Compatibility of immiscible PP-NBR blends was improved by the reactive compatibilization technique using various modified polypropylenes. In this study. 

A compatibilizer is sometimes used to overcome the interfacial tension between the two phases of dissimilar polymers. It enables a fine dispersion of highly cross-linked rubber particles. The function of the compatibilizer is to provide greater, but not total, thermodynamic compatibility between the two polymers [8]. 

The reactive compatibilization of HDPE-NBR and PP-NBR blends has been studied by Thomas and coworkers [75,76]. The maleic anhydride modified polyolefins and phenolic modified polyolefins are used as com-patibilizers. The effect of the concentration of these compatibilizers on the compatibility of these blends was investigated in terms of morphology and mechanical properties. It was found that in these blends an optimum quantity of the compatibilizer was required to obtain maximum improvement in properties, and after that a leveling off was observed. The domain size of the dispersed NBR phase in these blends is decreased up to a certain level and then increases (Fig. 12 and 13). The reduction in domain size is attributed to the increase in... 

Polyarylate (PAR)-b-PSt and PAR-b-PMMA for compatibiiizers are described 135,39,40). The addition of PAR-b-PSt (1-10 parts) to 100 parts of a blend of PAR-PSt (7w-3w) resulted in improvement of the tensile and flexural modulus (Fig. 4), and PSt dispersed particles were diminished from 1-5 microns to an order that is undetectable by SEM, indicating the excellent, compatibilizing effect of the block copolymer. The alloy thus formed exert the characteristic of PAR, an engineering plastic, as well as easy processability of PSt. Addition of PAR-b-PMMA (3 or 8 parts) to 100 parts of a blend of PAR-polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) (7w-3w) resulted in improved microdispersed state of PVDF due to compatibility of PMMA with PVDF, while segregation of PVDF onto the surface was controlled. 

Grafting two dissimilar plastics often involves a third plastic whose function is to improve the compatibility of the principal components. This compatibilizer material is a grafted copolymer that consists of one of the principal components and is similar to the other component. The mechanism is similar to that of having soap improve the solubility of a greasy substance in water. The soap contains components that are compatible with both the grease and the water. 

Second, in the case of polyoxazoline hybrid, the characteristic property of high compatibility of organic polymer with polar organic commodity polymers such as poly(vinyl chloride) or polyamide can be used as a type of compatibilizer. That is, it makes possible to incorporate the third organic polymer in the polyoxazoline-silica gel hybrid. 

A route to compatibility involving ionomers has been described recently by Eisenberg and coworkers [250-252]. The use of ionic interactions between different polymer chains to produce new materials has gained tremendous importance. Choudhury et al. [60] reported compatibilization of NR-polyolefin blends with the use of ionomers (S-EPDM). Blending with thermoplastics and elastomers could enhance the properties of MPR. The compatibility of copolyester TPE, TPU, flexible PVC, with MPR in aU proportions, enables one to blend any combination of these plastics with MPR to cost performance balance. Myrick has reported on the effect of blending MPR with various combinations and proportions of these plastics and provided a general guideline for property enhancement [253]. 

The properties of polymer materials can e greatly extended by blending two or more homopolymers together. Blends may be classified as compatible or incompatible - although this does depend on the dimensions being considered. Compatibility is influenced by the molecular weight of the homopolymers and is enhanced in practice by incorporation of block copolymers and other compatibilizers. The effects of radiation on blends depend on the degree of compatibility and the extent of inter-molecular interaction (physically and chemically) between the different types of homopolymers. 

Thermoplastic families are diverse but their number is limited and often there are wide gaps between the properties of two basic polymer types. To bridge the gap, two polymer families can be mixed if they are compatible or if it is possible to compatibilize them with a third material. 

Compatibilizers are compounds that provide miscibility or compatibility to materials that are otherwise immiscible or only partially miscible yielding a homogeneous product that does not separate into its components. Typically, compatibilizers act to reduce the interfacial tension and are concentrated at phase boundaries. Reactive compatibilizers chemically react with the materials they are to make compatible. Nonreactive compatibilizers perform their task by physically making the various component materials compatible. 

It is a common phenomenon that the intercalated-exfoliated clay coexists in the bulk and in the interface of a blend. Previous studies of polymer blend-clay systems usually show that the clay resides either at the interface [81] or in the bulk [82]. The simultaneous existence of clay layers in the interface and bulk allows two functions to be attributed to the nanoclay particles one as a compatibilizer because the clays are being accumulated at the interface, and the other as a nanofiller that can reinforce the rubber polymer and subsequently improve the mechanical properties of the compound. The firm existence of the exfoliated clay layers and an interconnected chain-like structure at the interface of CR and EPDM (as evident from Fig. 42a, b) surely affects the interfacial energy between CR and EPDM, and these arrangements seem to enhance the compatibility between the two rubbers. 

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