EFFECT OF THE STEREOREGULARITY OF POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE) ON INTERACTION AND BOUNDARY PHASE-STRUCTURE BETWEEN POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE) POLY(HYDROXYPROPYL ETHER OF BISPHENOL-A) BLEND AND POLYAMIDE SUBSTRATE

The interaction and boundary phase structure between poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/poly(hydroxypropyl ether of bisphenol A) (PHPE) blend (PMMA/PHPE blend) and polyamide substrate were studied by using the PMMA/PHPE blend composite reinforced with short Kevlar® fiber and the PMMA/PHPE film formed on nylon-6 plate in relation to the stereoregularity of PMMA. The interaction between the matrix and reinforcement is estimated to be weaker for the composite made with isotactic (i-) PMMA/PHPE blend compared with composites made with syndiotactic (s-) PMMA/PHPE and atactic (a-) PMMA/PHPE blends from the mechanical dispersion data. The boundary phase in contact with the substrate is comprised of a mixture of PMMA and PHPE for the i-PMMA/PHPE and s-PMMA/PHPE blends from the X-ray photoelectron spectra. The boundary phase of a-PMMA/PHPE blend is composed of almost PMMA alone as reported previously. These differences of the interaction and boundary phase structure can mainly be attributed to differences of such a molecular characteristic of PMMA as overall molecular conformation or degree of constraint on the rotation of molecular chains and the difference of the compatibility of PMMA with PHPE, depending on the streoregularity of PMMA. © 1990 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan.