Modification of the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of poly(vinyl chloride) by blending with poly(ethyl methacrylate)

Blends of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with different ratio of poly(ethyl methacrylate) were characterized with respect to their physical, mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties. The blends indicated a gradual rise in the modulus and ultimate tensile strength values followed by a reduction in the percent elongation at break and toughness values after an initial rise compared to the base reference compound PVC. The effect of composition of the PVCPEMA blends on the thermal stability was investigated. Differential scanning calorimetric curves of the blends showed an inward shift of the PVC glass transition temperature and an upward shift in the degradation temperature. The thermomechanical analysis results also indicated thermal stability over unmodified base reference compound PVC from the softening characteristics of the different samples under study. The biphasic cocontinuous systems as explicit from the scanning electron and optical micrographs supported phase-mixing at the initial stages with subsequent phasing out tendency with increasing percentage of PEMA incorporation. The thermomechanical parameters are in conformity to their mechanicals, which have been further supported by their morphological studies. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.