Issue 8, 2010
From the journal:

Soft Matter

The rubber particle size to control the properties-processing balance of thermoplastic/cross-linked elastomer blends

Roy M. A. l'Abee,ab   Martin van Duin,bc   Anne B. Spoelstraa  and  Johannes G. P. Goossens*ab  

* Corresponding authors

a Laboratory of Polymer Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB, The Netherlands
E-mail: J.G.P.Goossens@tue.nl
Fax: (+31) (0)40 247 6999
Tel: (+31) (0) 247 3899

b Dutch Polymer Institute, P.O. Box 902, Eindhoven, 5600 AX, The Netherlands

c DSM Elastomers R&D, P.O. Box 1130, Geleen, 6160 BC, The Netherlands

Abstract

The influence of the number-averaged rubber particle size (dn) on the mechanical and rheological properties of thermoplastic/cross-linked elastomer blends was studied, with the focus on thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) based on poly(propylene) (PP) and ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) rubber. Time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering measurements revealed that the criteria to obtain tough behavior are very different for TPVs than for traditional rubber-toughened thermoplastics, since the deformation mechanism of TPVs under tensile conditions is dominated by yielding of the semi-crystalline, thermoplastic matrix without the occurrence of matrix crazing and internal rubber cavitation. The formation of interlamellar voids, as occurs in the unfilled thermoplastic during deformation, is more effectively suppressed with decreasing dn, which leads to a significant enhancement of the ultimate tensile properties. Additionally, the decrease in dn leads to an enhanced elastic recovery, but also increases the melt viscosity. These results demonstrate that dn is an important parameter to control the balance between the mechanical properties and the melt processability of blends based on thermoplastics and cross-linked elastomers.

Graphical abstract: The rubber particle size to control the properties-processing balance of thermoplastic/cross-linked elastomer blends

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B913458A
Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Jul 2009
Accepted
14 Jan 2010
First published
18 Feb 2010

Soft Matter, 2010,6, 1758-1768

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The rubber particle size to control the properties-processing balance of thermoplastic/cross-linked elastomer blends

R. M. A. l'Abee, M. van Duin, A. B. Spoelstra and J. G. P. Goossens, Soft Matter, 2010, 6, 1758 DOI: 10.1039/B913458A

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