Compatibilization Compatibilizer reactive

Builders, R.F. Agbo, M.B. Adelakun, T Okpako, L.C. Attama, A.A. Novel multifunctional pharmaceutical excipients derived from microcrystalline cellulose-starch microparticulate composites prepared by compatibilized reactive polymer blending. Int. J. Pharm. 2010, 388 (1-2), 159-167. 

New compatibilization/reactive alloying strategies for immiscible polymer blends, which fulfill the desired economic, safety, and productivity targets. 

Moreover, commercially available triblock copolymers designed to be thermoplastic elastomers, not compatihilizers, are often used in Heu of the more appealing diblock materials. Since the mid-1980s, the generation of block or graft copolymers in situ during blend preparation (158,168—176), called reactive compatibilization, has emerged as an alternative approach and has received considerable commercial attention. 

Blends that contain no nylon can also be prepared by reactive compatibilization. However, interest in these systems has been limited somewhat by lack of control of the reaction pathways. Eor polyester-based systems, epoxide functionaHty appears to be an effective chemistry, involving reaction of the polyester chain ends (183,184). 

The treatment of blends as a two phase system opened up an interesting field of modifying the composite properties by the use of a (third component within the interface boundaries, which is termed as compatibilizers [1]. Such modifications are still being extended to the formation of microgel out of the interaction between the two blend partners having a reactive for functionalities. This type of interchain crosslinking does not require any compatibilizer to enhance the blend properties and also allows the blends to be reprocessed by further addition of a curative to achieve still further improved properties [3,4]. Such interchain crosslinking is believed to reduce the viscoelastic mismatch between the blend partners and, thus, facilitates smooth extrusion [5,6]. 

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

Els and McGill [48] reported the action of maleic anhydride on polypropylene-polyisoprene blends. A graft copolymer was found in situ through the modifier, which later enhanced the overall performance of the blend. Scott and Macosko [49] studied the reactive and nonreactive compatibilization of nylon-ethylene-propylene rubber blends. The nonreactive polyamide-ethylene propylene blends showed poor interfacial adhesion between the phases. The reactive polyamide-ethylene propylene-maleic anhydride modified blends showed excellent adhesion and much smaller dispersed phase domain size. 

Greco et al. [50] studied the effect of the reactive compatibilization technique in ethylene propylene rubber-polyamide-6 blends. Binary blends of polyamide-6-ethylene propylene rubber (EPR) and a ternary blend of polyamide-6-EPR-EPR-g-succinic anhydride were prepared by the melt mixing technique, and the influence of the degree of grafting of (EPR-g-SA) on morphology and mechanical properties of the blends was studied. 

Those involving the use of functionalized blend components that produce in situ compatibilizing interchain copolymers some common reactive functionalities include carboxyl, epoxy, isocyanate, and anhydride, etc. 

Blends based on polyolefins have been compatibilized by reactive extrusion where functionalized polyolefins are used to form copolymers that bridge the phases. Maleic anhydride modified polyolefins and acrylic acid modified polyolefins are the commonly used modified polymers used as the compatibilizer in polyolefin-polyamide systems. The chemical reaction involved in the formation of block copolymers by the reaction of the amine end group on nylon and anhydride groups or carboxylic groups on modified polyolefins is shown in Scheme 1. 

The kinetics of the reactive compatibilization of nylon-6-PP by acrylic acid modified PP was investigated by Dagli et al. [47]. The compatibilization reaction in this system involved the reaction between the acid group of acrylic acid modified PP and the amine group of nylon-6. A typical intensive batch mixer torque (t) vs time (t) trace for a ternary blend showing an increase in mixing torque upon the addition of PP-g-AA to a binary PP-NBR (85 7.5) blend is shown in Fig. 3. The kinetic... 

Baker and Saleem [51] have reported on the reactive compatibilization of oxazoline modified PS and carbox-ylated polyethylene. The coupling reaction results in amide-ester linkages at the time of melt mixing. A schematic representation of the reaction is shown in Scheme 2. 

Reactive compatibilization of engineering thermoplastic PET with PP through functionalization has been reported by Xanthos et al. [57]. Acrylic acid modified PP was used for compatibilization. Additives such as magnesium acetate and p-toluene sulfonic acid were evaluated as the catalyst for the potential interchange or esterification reaction that could occur in the melt. The blend characterization through scanning electron microscopy, IR spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and... 

The influence of maleic anhydride modified styrene-(ethylene-co-butylene)-styrene (SEBS) triblock copolymer as a reactive compatibilizer in a nylon-6-SEBS blend was investigated by Wu et al. [66]. When the ma]e-ated SEBS was incorporated into the PA-6-SEBS biend. 

Most of the commercially available reactive compatibilized systems contain acidic functional groups. Reactive... 

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... 

The applicability of Noolandi and Hong s theory of compatibilization of immiscible blends using block copolymers has been extended to the reactive compatibilization technique by Thomas and coworkers [75,76]. According to Noolandi and Hong [77], the interfacial tension is expected to decrease linearly with the addition... 

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