Transport properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) Rodrun 3000 blends

The transport properties of incompatible blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP) composed of 40 mol% of PET and 60 mol% of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (Rodrun 3000) have been investigated using dichloromethane as permeant. Films, obtained by a blown film extrusion process, were analyzed and compared with the same samples stored 2 and 15 days at 60 degrees C. With respect to the as-blown films, blends submitted to physical aging show a decrease in permeability by a percentage that increases with the amount of the LC phase present and a larger contribution derived from the polymeric matrix. The decrease of permeability is essentially attributed to a lowering of sorption because diffusional behavior for the different samples is the same.