Morphology and properties of PP/EPDM binary blends and PP/EPDM/nano‐CaCO3 ternary blends

In this article, the morphology, crystallization, and rheological behaviors of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐propylene‐diene terpolymer (EPDM) binary blend and PP/EPDM/calcium carbonate nanoparticles (nano‐CaCO₃) ternary blend were investigated. Two processing methods, i.e., direct extrusion and two‐step extrusion, were employed to prepare the PP/EPDM/CaCO₃ blend. The influence of EPDM and nano‐CaCO₃ respectively on phase morphology and properties of PP/EPDM blend and PP/EPDM/CaCO₃ blend were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic rheometer. The crystallinity and crystallization temperature of PP/EPDM blend were improved in comparison to pure PP due to addition of EPDM, but kept invariable with the increased EPDM loading. As the EPDM content was increased, the mobility of PP molecular chains was weakened. Compared with direct extruded blend, less and finer nano‐CaCO₃ was dispersed in matrix of two‐step extruded blend. Accordingly, the increased nano‐CaCO₃ in matrix gave rise to a weaker increment in crystallinity and crystallization temperature of two‐step extruded blend, and a later platform of tanδ curve. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Tensile properties and morphology of the dynamically cured EPDM and PP/HDPE ternary blends

The tensile properties and morphology of the polyolefin ternary blends of ethylenepropylene–diene terpolymer (EPDM), polypropylene and high density polyethylene were studied. Blends were prepared in a laboratory internal mixer where EPDM was cured in the presence of PP and HDPE under shear with dicumyl peroxide (DCP). For comparison, blends were also prepared from EPDM which was dynamically cured alone and blended with PP and HDPE later (cure–blend). The effect of DCP concentration, intensity of the shear mixing, and rubber/plastics composition was studied. The tensile strength and modulus increased with increasing DCP concentration in the blends of EPDM-rich compositions but decreased with increasing DCP concentration in blends of PP-rich compositions. In the morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the small amount of EPDM acted as a compatibilizer to HDPE and PP. It was also revealed that the dynamic curing process could reduce the domain size of the crosslinked EPDM phase. When the EPDM forms the matrix, the phase separation effect becomes dominant between the EPDM matrix and PP or HDPE domain due to the crosslinking in the matrix.     

Radiation processing of EPDM/PP blends

The effect of ionizing radiation on thermal oxidation of ethylene-propylene copolymer/polypropylene (EPDM/PP) was evaluated over the range of total gamma doses up to 250 kGy. The influence of irradiation dose on oxidation induction periods was investigated by oxygen uptake and thermal analysis on polymer samples containing various concentrations of components (100/0, 80/20, 40/60, 60/40, 20/80 and 100/0 w/w ). Drastic decrease in oxidation induction time was observed for low doses. The competition between crosslinking and scission has been examined on the basis of radical recombination on post-irradiation time. The influence of specimen formulations on oxidation induction time is discussed regarding to the contribution of antagonistic processes: crosslinking and oxidative degradation.     

Rheological properties,tensile properties,and morphology of PP/EPDM/lonomer ternary blends

The rheological and tensile properties and the morphology of polypropylene (PP)/ethylenepropylene-diene terpolymer(EPDM)/ionomer ternary blends were investigated, using a rheometric dynamic spectrometer (RDS), a dynamic mechanical thermal analyzer (DMTA), a tensile tester, and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Two kinds of poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMA) ionomers, neutralized with different metal ions (Na⁺ and Zn⁺⁺), were used. Blends were melt-mixed, using a laboratory internal mixer at 190°C. The composition of PP and EPDM was fixed at 50/50 by wt % and the EMA ionomer contents were varied from 5 to 20 wt %, based on the total amount of PP and EPDM. It was found that the ternary blends, containing Na-neutralized ionomer, showed considerably different rheological properties and morphology as compared to the PP/EPDM binary blends, due to the compatibilizing effect of the ionomer for PP and EPDM, while the ternary blends, containing the Zn-neutralized ionomer, did not. The compatibilizing effect was most prominent at 5 wt % ionomer concentration. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Rheological properties and crystalline structure of the dynamically cured EPDM and PP/HDPE ternary blends

The rheological properties and crystalline structure of the polyolefin ternary blends of EPDM/polypropylene/high density polyethylene were studied. Blends were prepared in a laboratory internal mixer by two different methods. In blend–cure process, blending and curing were performed simultaneously and EPDM was cured by dicumyl peroxide (DCP) in the presence of PP/HDPE under shear. The cure–blend was to cure EPDM alone first under shear (dynamic curing) and then mix the cured EPDM with PP and HDPE. The effect of DCP concentration, intensity of the shear mixing, and the rubber/plastic composition were studied using capillary rheometer and X-ray diffractometer. The PP-rich ternary blends showed the effect of the mechanooxidative degradation of PP by shear and peroxide. The melt viscosity increased with increasing DCP concentration in blends of EPDM-rich compositions. X-ray diffraction studies revealed that the inclusion of 25 wt % of linear EPDM in the PP/HDPE mixture for the PP-rich ternary blends changed the crystal structure of polypropylene component in the ternary blends. However, the dynamic curing did not alter the crystal structure of PP or HDPE in the blends.     

汽车用三元乙丙橡胶改性聚丙烯

探讨了三元乙丙橡胶（EPDM）增韧聚丙烯的机理,讨论了影响三元乙丙橡胶/聚丙烯共混物韧性、刚性、流变性能、形态结构的因素及它们之间的相互关系,有助于设计和制造应用于汽车上的该种改性材料。     

PP/EPDM共混物断裂性能的研究

采用三元乙丙橡胶（EPDM）对共聚聚丙烯（PP）增韧改性。研究了共混物的力学性能和断裂性能,着重采用基本断裂功方法探讨了材料组成对共混体系断裂性能的影响。研究发现：随EPDM用量的增加,共混物的拉伸强度逐渐下降,冲击强度均较纯PP有一定程度的提高。不同组成的PP／EPDM共混物的ωe均高于纯PP,ωe值随EPDM用量的增加呈先增大后减小的趋势,且ωe主要受ωe,n变化的影响,同样βωp的变化主要受βnωp,n变化的影响。     

反应性聚丙烯/三元乙丙橡胶共混物的流变性能研究

采用高压毛细管流变仪 ,研究了EPDM含量、交联剂、交联助剂等因素对反应性PP/EPDM共混物性能的影响。结果表明 ,EPDM分散相浓度为 2 0～ 2 5phr,反应共混工艺对体系的消缠降粘效果显著 ;交联剂A的含量越高 ,体系表观粘度越小 ,但粘度对剪切的响应不敏感 ;交联剂B和并用交联剂S可抑制PP降解 ,进一步优化材料力学性能 ,并仍保持体系加工流动性高于简单共混PP/EPDM。     

PET/EVA/PP ternary blends: An investigation of extended morphological properties

In this study, the effects of different parameters on the morphological properties of ternary blends were investigated. Therefore two systems (PET/H‐EVA/PP and PET/L ‐EVA/PP, H‐EVA and L ‐EVA are high and low viscosity, respectively) were prepared by melt mixing process. In all of the blends, poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) as the major phase‐ with poly propylene (PP) and two grades of poly (ethyl‐stat‐vinylacetate) (EVA) with different viscosities and subsequently different interfacial interactions was blended. Theoretical models predicted positive spreading coefficient for two grades of EVA and lower free energy for the samples consisting of EVA and PP as the shell and the core phases respectively. With changing core shell ratio, droplet size of samples containing L ‐EVA and H‐EVA increased and decreased, respectively. Subinclusion of shell into the core was observed in some blended samples. In systems containing H‐EVA, by thickening the shell phase; multi core morphology was observed which would be related to the coalescence phenomenon inter the droplets. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

PP／EPDM共混体系界面的研究

本文采用马来酸酐对三元乙丙橡胶（ＥＰＤＭ）进行熔融接枝改性,将性后的ＥＰＤＭ与聚丙烯（ＰＰ）共混,对ＰＰ／ＥＰＤＭ和ＰＰ／ＥＰＤＭ－ｇ－ＭＡＨ两种共混体系的界面状况进行了对比。运用Ｈｕｇｇｉｎｓ参数、界面张力参数对界面状况进行了表征;运用扫描电镜（ＳＥＭ）和偏光显微镜对共混物的冲击断口形貌以及结晶情况进行了观察与分析;探讨了界面状况与共混物力学性能以及流变性能间的关系。     

动态固化聚丙烯/马来酸酐接枝三元乙丙橡胶/环氧树脂共混物

将动态固化法成功地应用于聚丙烯／环氧树脂共混体系中，加入马来酸酐接枝三元乙丙橡胶后不仅增加了聚丙烯／环氧树脂共混体系的相容性，而且提高了聚丙烯基质的韧性。固化的环氧树脂颗粒提高了聚丙烯基质的刚性。动态固化聚丙烯／马来酸酐接枝三元乙丙橡胶／环氧树脂共混物的刚性和韧性达到了很好的平衡。     

Compatibilization of PP/PAE blends by means of the addition of an ionomer

Minor amounts of poly(ethylene‐co‐methacrylic acid) ionomer neutralized with Zn (PEMA‐Zn) were added in the melt state to blends of polypropylene (PP) with up to 40% of poly(amino ether) (PAE) resin. Given the good barrier characteristics of PAE, it is a good candidate to improve the poor barrier properties of PP. However, PP/PAE blends were found to be almost fully immiscible, with a large dispersed phase size and a brittle mechanical behavior. Upon PEMA‐Zn addition, the dispersed particle size clearly decreased from diameters of several microns to diameters mostly below 0.5 μm, indicating that compatibilization occurred. This compatibilization was due to the presence of PEMA‐Zn in the two phases of the blends and was additionally proven by the large decrease observed in the interfacial tension. Further, the fine morphology led to an enhancement in the unnotched impact strength of the ternary blends and of their ductile behavior (elongation at break 30‐ to 40‐fold that of the corresponding binary blends). POLYM. ENG. SCI., 50:1512–1519, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Structure and properties of dynamically cured EPDM/PP blends

The structure and properties of polyolefin blends of ethylene–propylene–diene terpolymer (EPDM) and polypropylene were studied. Blends were prepared in a laboratory internal mixer where EPDM was cured with PP under shear with dicumyl peroxide (DCP) at different shear conditions (blend–cure). Blends were also prepared for comparison from EPDM which were dynamically cured in the absence of PP and blended later (cure–blend). The effect of DCP concentration, intensity of the shear mixing, and rubber/plastic composition were studied. In blend–cure, the melt viscosity increased with increasing DCP concentration in blends of 75% EPDM and 25% PP, but it decreased with increasing DCP concentration in blends of 75% PP and 25% EPDM. In cure–blend, however, the melt viscosity increased with increasing DCP concentration for all compositions. The melt viscosity decreased with increasing intensity of the shear mixing presumably due to the formation of the smaller segregated microdomain of the crosslinked EPDM gels in both blend–cure and cure–blend materials. The crystallization rate was higher in EPDM/PP blends than in PP homopolymer. The crystallization rates for various blending conditions were also compared.     

Morphology prediction and the effect of core‐shell structure on the rheological behavior of PP/EPDM/HDPE ternary blends

In this work, the morphologies of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐propylene‐diene (EPDM) rubber/high density polyethylene (HDPE) 70/20/10 blends were studied and compared with the predictions of the spreading coefficient and minimum free energy models. The interfacial tension of PP/HDPE, PP/EPDM, and HDPE/EPDM blends were obtained by fitting the experimental dynamic storage modulus data to Palierne's theory. The prediction results showed core‐shell morphology (core of HDPE and shell of EPDM) in PP matrix. The PP/EPDM/HDPE blends were respectively prepared by direct extrusion and lateral injection method. Core‐shell morphology (core of HDPE and shell of EPDM) could be obtained with direct extrusion corresponding to the predicted morphology. The morphology of PP/EPDM/HDPE blends could be effectively controlled by lateral injection method. For PP/EPDM/HDPE blend prepared by lateral injection method, HDPE and EPDM phase were dispersed independently in PP matrix. It was found that the different morphology of PP/EPDM/HDPE blends prepared by two methods showed different rheological behavior. When the core‐shell morphology (core of HDPE and shell of EPDM) appeared, the EPDM shell could confine the deformation of HDPE core significantly, so the interfacial energy contribution of dispersed phase on the storage modulus of blends would be weaken in the low frequency region. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Compatibilization of PP/EPDM blends by grafting acrylic acid to polypropylene and epoxidizing the diene in EPDM

In this article, ethylene–propylene–diene‐rubber (EPDM) was epoxidized with an in situ formed performic acid to prepare epoxided EPDM (eEPDM). The eEPDM together with the introduction of PP‐g‐AA was used to compatibilize PP/EPDM blends in a Haake mixer. FTIR results showed that the EPDM had been epoxidized. The reaction between epoxy groups in the eEPDM and carboxylic acid groups in PP‐g‐AA had taken place, and PP‐g‐EPDM copolymers were formed in situ. Torque test results showed that the actual temperature and torque values for the compatibilized blends were higher than that of the uncompatibilized blends. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation showed that the dispersed phase domain size of compatibilized blends and the uncompatibilized blends were 0.5 and 1.5 μm, respectively. The eEPDM together with the introduction of PP‐g‐AA could compatibilize PP/EPDM blends effectively. Notched Izod impact tests showed that the formation of PP‐g‐EPDM copolymer improved the impact strength and yielded a tougher PP blend. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 3949–3954, 2006     

动态硫化PP/EPDM共混物的结构与性能

研究了动态硫化和直接共混对聚丙烯／三元乙丙橡胶共混物的力学性能、流动性能和形态结构的影响。结果表明：过氧化二异丙苯（DCP）的加入,使动态硫化和直接共混2种方法制备的共混物的熔体流动速率（MFR）增大,但直接共混的共混物的MFR较动态硫化共混物高。动态硫化共混物的粒径尺寸较直接共混物小,且分布均匀。动态硫化后的共混物中两组分的玻璃化转变温峰接近。DCP的加入使动态硫化共混物的缺口冲击强度明显高于直接共混的共混物。     

Effect of NR and EPDM on the rheology of HDPE/PP blends

Summary We studied melt-rheological properties of ternary blends of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene with an elastomer (natural rubber or ethylene-propylene-diene), at several blending ratios and shear rates. Measurements made on a cone-plate rheometer are presented and discussed as a function of blend composition. The effect of the shear rate on the viscosity and flow curve is discussed in terms of the exponent of the power low for a non-Newtonian liquid. The addition of an elastomer to the polyolefins blends changes the shape of the viscosity-composition curve; this change is discussed in terms of the possible morphology of the blend. Received: 25 September 1998/Revised version: 8 February 1999/Accepted: 9 February 1999     

Impact fracture behavior of PP/EPDM/glass bead ternary composites

The effects of glass bead filler content and surface treatment of the glass with a silane coupling agent on the room temperature impact fracture behavior of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene‐propylene‐diene monomer copolymer (EPDM)/glass bead(GB) ternary composites were determined. The volume fraction of EPDM was kept constant at 10%. The impact fracture energy and impact strength of the composites increased with increasing volume fraction of glass beads (?_g). Surface pretreatment of the glass beads had an insignificant effect on the impact behavior. For a fixed filler content, the best impact strength was achieved when untreated glass beads and a maleic anhydride modified EPDM were used. The impact strength exhibited a maximum value at ?_g=15%. Morphology/impact property relationships and an explanation of the toughening mechanisms were developed by comparing the impact properties with scanning electron micrographs of fracture surfaces.     

Carbon-13 assignments of EPDM/PP atactic blends by DEPT and HETCOR

The structure of the elastomeric ethylene–propylene–diene terpolymer/atactic polypropylene (EPDM/PPA) blends were assigned by NMR using DEPT (distortionless enhancement by polarization transfer) and HETCOR (heteronuclear correlation) sequences. These methods were carried out to elucidate solid-state ¹³C-NMR assignments of polymeric blends. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.