IMPROVEMENT OF THE PROCESSABILITY OF ADVANCED POLYMERS

The possibility of improving processability of engineering polymers was studied in this work. Low percentages of a thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer supplied by Bayer Co. were added to the polyetherimide Ultem. The thermal and morphological analysis revealed a two phase system. Rheological measurements in shear flow were carried out in the temperature range of the existence of the mesophase. A significant drop of ∼ 30% in the Ultem viscosity occurs even with 5% w/w TLCP. The influence of the addition of the thermotropic polymer on the mechanical properties of Ultem was also investigated. Moreover, the morphological analysis of the unfilled polymers and of the blends was performed and related to their rheological and mechanical behavior. Copyright © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.