PHYSICAL-PROPERTIES OF MODEL GRAFT-COPOLYMERS AND THEIR USE AS BLEND COMPATIBILIZERS

The present investigation pertains to the structure-property relationships of highly structured graft copolymers. The specific model graft copolymers are based on an elastomeric backbone, i.e., poly(ethyl acrylate), and monodisperse thermoplastic grafts, i.e., polystyrene. The synthesis of these graft copolymers is based on the free-radical polymerization of ethyl acrylate and an anionically polymerized polystyrene macromonomer. It is clearly demonstrated that grafts significantly enhance tensile properties. The level of improvement is directly related to the graft level, i.e., number of grafts/chain, and graft molecular weight. In addition, blending these graft copolymers into their respective homopolymer mixture results in a mechanical performance strikingly dependent on the molecular characteristics of the graft copolymer. For example, tensile strength is maximized at a level between one and two grafts per chain. This result parallels observations noted in blend compatibilization using diblock and triblock copolymers. It is also demonstrated that using mutually grafted copolymers produces an interesting variety of compatibilized ternary (or higher) component blends. (C) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.