Interfacial adhesion, effect compatibilizing agent

One possible way of reducing interfacial tension and improving phase adhesion between PP-based blend phases is to use a selected copolymeric additive that has similar components to the blend, as a compatibilizer in the blend system. Well-chosen diblock copolymers, widely used as compatibilizing agents in PP-based blends, usually enhance interfacial interaction between phases of blends (15, 16), reduce the particle dimensions of the dispersed phase (16, 17), and stabilize phase dispersion against coalescence (16-18) through an emulsification effect, thus improving the mechanical properties (15-19). 

Kalf et al. studied the effect of grafting cellulose acetate and methylmethacrylate as compatibilizers on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) blends. Morphology studies of the samples show an improvement in interfacial adhesion between the NBR and SBR phases in the presence of the prepared compatibilizing agents. The authors also reported the samples with grafted compatibilizers showed superior crosslink density and thermal stability, as compared to the blends without graft copolymers. ... 

The use of copolymers as surfactants is widespread in macromolecular chemistry in order to compatibilize immiscible blends. These additives are sometimes named surfactants , interfacial agents or more usually compatibi-lizers . Their effect on improving different properties is observed interfacial tension and domain size decrease, while there is an increase in adhesion between the two phases and a post-mixing morphology stabilization (coalescence prevention). The aim of the addition of such copolymers is to obtain thermodynamically stable blends, but the influence of kinetic parameters has to be kept in mind as long as they have to be mastered to reach the equilibrium. Introducing a copolymer can be achieved either by addition of a pre-synthesized copolymer or by in-situ surfactant synthesis via a fitted re-... 

Compatibilizing effects of interfacial agents such as block or graft copolymers that reduce the interfacial tension, stabilize the morphology, and strengthen adhesion at the interface. 

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