COMPATIBILIZER-AIDED TOUGHENING IN POLYMER BLENDS CONSISTING OF BRITTLE POLYMER PARTICLES DISPERSED IN A DUCTILE POLYMER MATRIX

Blending brittle polymer particles in a ductile polymer matrix is a new way to obtain toughened plastics. Although the nylon-6/ poly(acrylonitrile-co-styrene) (SAN) system is a ductile/brittle combination, the blend does not result in a toughened plastic. We have investigated the effect of adding a small amount of a third component, poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (SMA), to the nylon/ SAN system. SMA significantly improves; the tensile and impact stsrength of the blend. Morphological observations indicate a finer dispersion of the SAN particles when SMA is present in the blend. The improved dispersion is attributed to the formation of nylon-SMA graft copolymer.