Joseph, S., Laupre, F., Negrell, C. and Thomas, S. (2005) Compatibilising Action of Random and Triblock Copolymers of Poly(Styrene-Butadiene) in Polystyrene/Polybutadiene Blends: A Study by Electron Microscopy, Solid State NMR Spectroscopy and Mechanical Measurements. Polymer, 46, 9385-9395.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2005.07.053

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Toughening of Immiscible rPS/SAN Blends by SEBS Elastomers: Properties and Morphology

  AUTHORS: Khaled Bedjaoui, Rodrigo Navarro, Rachida Krache, Juan Lopez Valentin, Rebeca Herrero Calderon, Alberto Fernandez Torres, Angel Marcos Fernandez

  KEYWORDS: Recycled Polystyrene, SAN, Toughening, Polymer Blends, Rheology

  JOURNAL NAME: Journal of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Vol.10 No.3, March 28, 2022

  ABSTRACT: In this research, an attempt was made to improve compatibility in a polymer blend composed of incompatible constituents, namely, recycled polystyrene (rPS) and polystyrene-co-acrylonitrile (SAN), through the addition of a compatibilizer. The compatibilizing agent, styrene-ethylenebutadiene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS), was added to the polymer blend in ratios of 5 and 10 wt%. For this purpose, blends of rPS and SAN at different ratios, without and with varying concentrations of compatibilizer, were prepared by melt blending using a co-rotating twin-screwextruder. Mechanical properties including tensile and impact strength, rheological properties (RPA), thermal behaviour (DSC) and morphological characteristics (SEM) were evaluated. According to the results obtained by complex viscosity, the blends behave as a pseudoplastic fluid. The results showed that the addition of SEBS increased the Izod impact strength and the elongation at break and decreased the tensile strength and tensile modulus. rPS/SAN blend modified with SEBS had better mechanical properties than the rPS/SAN alloy. SEM photographs revealed that the SEBS was not only distributed in the SAN phase but also distributed in rPS phase in rPS/SAN/SEBS blend. Furthermore, DSC analysis for blends of rPS/SAN gave a good indication of the improvement on miscibility for most compositions. SEM micrographs of tensile fracture surfaces indicated that the formation of the co-continuous phase and the improvement of interface adhesion are the most important reasons for the excellent tensile properties of the rPS/SAN/SEBS blends. Within the range of analysed compositions, the morphologies investigated by SEM are typical of immiscible blends.