THE EFFECT OF EXTRUDER TEMPERATURE AND MALEATED POLYPROPYLENE ON POLYPROPYLENE NYLON-6,6 BLEND - A SMALL-ANGLE X-RAY-SCATTERING STUDY

A series of small-angle X-ray scattering measurements were performed to study the polypropylene/nylon-6,6 polymer blends with or without the compatibilizer: maleated polypropylene. The blends were made at various temperatures using a venting conical twin-screw extruder with a constant extruding flow rate. The X-ray scattering results show that the dispersion of nylon-6,6 in polypropylene is improved for temperature above the melting point of nylon-6,6 (265 degrees C) when the compatibilizer involved is not used. As the compatibilizer is incorporated, the dispersion is significantly improved, even at the temperature below 265 degrees C. With the compatibilizer, the dispersed nylon-6,6 particle size and shape in the blends are independent of blending temperature, suggesting that the temperature effect is overwhelmed by the effect of the compatibilizer. (C) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.