Dielectric and mechanical properties of oolystyrene/acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber blends

The dielectric and mechanical properties of polystyrene(PS)/acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) blends were studied with the aim of improving the insulation properties of NBR. Compatibility investigations, performed with viscosity and dielectric methods and confirmed with the calculated heat of mixing, indicated that such blends were incompatible. To overcome the problem of phase separation between NBR and PS, we chose epoxidized soya bean oil to act as a compatibilizer and added 3% to the blends under investigation. This led to the conclusion that a sample containing 10% PS (either pure or scrap) possessed the most suitable electrical and mechanical properties. For this reason, the sample was chosen for studying the effect of the addition of three types of fillers (quartz, talc, and calcium carbonate) in increasing quantities (up to 80 phr) on the dielectric and mechanical properties. The variation of the dielectric properties with temperature (20-60degreesC) was also investigated. (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.