Effect of Compatibilizers on Polyamide 6 and Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Blend: Graphene Oxide and Glycidyl Methacrylate

In this study, two types of compatibilizer were used for improving the mechanical and morphological properties of polyamide 6 (PA6)/Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR). Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was grafted onto SBR chain through a free radical polymerization for improving its miscibility with PA6 because epoxy groups of the GMA can be cured by the amine groups of PA6 chains, so that these two polymers can be strongly connected by covalent bonds. As GMA has less activity toward SBR, styrene was used as a co-monomer according to the fact that styryl macroradicals have better activity toward GMA than SBR chain. 0.25, 0.5, and 1% of graphene oxide (GO) were used as another compatibilizer for reaching higher mechanical properties because of its amphiphilic properties. The toughness of polymer was investigated by tensile test and increased by 83.04% in 0.5% GO. The degree of grafting was measured by titration and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).