Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.66, No.1, 179-186, 1997
Thermorheological Behavior of Polypropylene and Polycarbonate Inclusions in an Ethylene Copolymer Matrix
We investigated the rheological behavior of incompatible polymer blends made of a semicrystalline ethylene-methyl acrylate (EMA) matrix and two different species of inclusions-a semicrystalline polypropylene and an amorphous polycarbonate. The emulsion model of Palierne which describes the linear viscoelastic behavior of incompatible blends of polymers was applied to both polymer blends at temperatures below and above the melt or glass temperature of the dispersed polymer. The Palierne model fits well the experimental results for temperatures above the transition temperatures of the minor phases. When the dispersed phase is rigid, the fit is good all over the frequency range for the blend of EMA/polypropylene (PP), whereas a noticeable deviation occurs at low frequencies for the EMA/polycarbonate (PC). That behavior is explained by strong van der Waals interactions between EMA and PC molecules, which creates a layer of EMA chains irreversibly adsorbed onto the PC surface.