Morphology, Rheology and Impact Resistance of PS/EOC/SEBS Ternary Blends

Immiscible polystyrene (PS)/ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC) blends with different amounts of styrene-ethylene–butylene-styrene copolymer (SEBS) as compatibilizer were prepared by melt mixing method and the morphology, rheology and impact resistance of the blend samples were investigated. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs revealed that incorporation of SEBS into PS/EOC blend leads to change the shape of EOC dispersed phase from droplet to fibrillar. From the melt linear viscoelastic rheological studies, the interaction between SEBS and each of PS matrix and EOC dispersed phases in the ternary blends was confirmed. Moreover, the micelle formation of the compatibilizer in PS matrix phase of the ternary blends with relatively high amounts of SEBS was founded by the rheological analysis. The impact resistance of PS/EOC blend enhanced with increasing the SEBS quantity.