Cyclo-olefin copolymer/poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) blends: Structure-property relationships and morphological, rheological, and mechanical properties

In this study, blends of cyclo-olefin copolymers (COC) that had different monomer compositions and poly(Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) (ABS) were prepared and variations in their morphological, rheological, and dynamic mechanical properties were investigated. In the morphological analyses, it was seen that all blends with 50/50% composition had a co-continuous morphology, while droplet-matrix morphology was observed for the other compositions. Melt-state shear modulus and viscosity increased with the addition of ABS for the blends prepared with COC derivatives containing 40% and 68% norbornene content by weight, while there was no significant change in the modulus values of those prepared with the COC derivative containing 76% norbornene by weight. On the contrary to other blends, it was observed that the modulus values decreased with the addition of ABS in the blends prepared with COC with 82% norbornene content. Evaluation of the SEM images and Cole-Cole plots indicated that COC-rich blends were more compatible than the ABS-rich blends in the case COC with lower norbornene content was used in polymer blends, while ABS-rich blends became more compatible with increasing norbornene content of COC.

Automated summary

This study investigates the morphological, rheological, and dynamic mechanical properties of blends of cyclo-olefin copolymers (COC) and poly(Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) (ABS) with different monomer compositions. The results show that the morphology of the blends varies with composition, and the addition of ABS increases the shear modulus and viscosity of the blends. Furthermore, the influence of ABS on the blends differs when using COC with different norbornene contents, with lower norbornene content COC being more compatible with ABS.