Polymer blends of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and polystyrene compatibilized by styrene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymers

The compatibilizing effects of styrene-glycidyl methacrylate (SG) copolymers with various glycidyl methyacrylate (GMA), contents on immiscible blends of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) and polystyrene (PS) were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and C-13-solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The epoxy functional groups in the SG copolymer were able to react with the PTT end groups (-COOH or -OH) to form SG-g-PTT copolymers during melt processing. These in situ-formed graft copolymers tended to reside along the interface to reduce the interfacial tension and to increase the interfacial adhesion. The compatibilized PTT/PS blend possessed a smaller phase domain, higher viscosity, and better tensile properties than did the corresponding uncompatibilized blend. For all compositions, about 5% GMA in SG copolymer was found to be the optimum content to produce the best compatibilization of the blend. This study demonstrated that SG copolymers can be used efficiently in compatibilizing polymer blends of PTT and PS. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.