Devolatilization: A critical sequential operation for in situ compatibilization of immiscible polymer blends by one-step reactive extrusion

The main objective of this study was to show that an efficient removal of residual monomers is very important for in situ compatibilization of immiscible polymer blends by one step reactive extrusion, One-step reactive extrusion means that when compatibilizing two immiscible polymers with one polymer containing potential functional groups and the other being chemically inert with respect to these functional groups, functionalization of the chemically inert polymer and its subsequent interfacial reaction with the functional polymer are accomplished in a single extrusion process. Two model blend systems were chosen: polypropylene/poly(butylene terephthalate) (PP/PBT) and high density polyethylene/polyamide 6 (HDPE/PA6). A co-rotating intermeshing twin screw extruder was used to process these blends. Glycidyl methacrylate (OMA) and maleic anhydride (MA) were used to functionalize PP and HDPE, respectively. Results showed that the mechanical properties of both blends In terms of elongation at break and impact strength were improved to a much greater extent with up-stream devolatilization compared with down-stream devolatilization.