Morphology, microstructure and rheological properties of SAN (styrene-acrylonitrile)/EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer) nanocomposites: Investigating the role of organoclay type and order of mixing

The object of this work was to investigate the preferential localization of nanoclay platelets in SAN/EPDM (80/20) blend in terms of thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. In this way, effects of two organoclay types and mixing sequences on the morphology, microstructure and rheological properties of prepared blends were studied. Calculations based on the thermodynamic point of view suggested both nanoclay types should be localized in the SAN phase. The XRD results demonstrated that SAN phase as a matrix played a more significant role in the intercalation/exfoliation of organoclays rather than dispersed EPDM phase. Linear viscoelastic studies showed a high tendency for both of organoclays to be localized in the SAN component as well as better dispersion state of cloisite 30B organoclay. The results of creep and creep-recovery experiments revealed the reversible deformation of nanocomposites decreased with increasing degree of organoclay dispersion. The calculated retardation spectrums indicated the dominant role of filler filler interaction on the melt viscoelastic response of ternary nanocomposites. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to study the correlation between the rheological properties, and microstructure and morphological features of blends. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.