Effect of ethylene-acrylate-(maleic anhydride)terpolymer on mechanical properties and morphology of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polyamide-6 blends

摘要

BACKGROUND:Poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)/polyamide-6(PA-6)blends are promising for engineering and food-packaging applications.However,their poor toughness limits their use.In this study,an ethylene-acrylate-(maleic anhydride)terpolymer(E-AE-MA)was added to PET/PA-6 blends in order to improve the toughness.RESULTS:Izod impact tests indicated an excellent toughening effect of E-AE-MA.E-AE-MA particles were observed to be selectively dispersed at the interface between PET and PA-6 phases and in the domain of the PA-6 phase.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry results demonstrated that the formation of E-AE-MA layers around PA-6 particles cut off the interaction between PET and PA-6,resulting in an enlarged PA-6 phase domain.CONCLUSION:Based on the experimental results,a core-shell microstructure,with PA-6 as a hard core and E-AE-MA as a soft shell,could be suggested.The formation of this core-shell microstructure,along with the increased PA-6 phase domain size,is the main toughening mechanism of E-AE-MA in PET/PA-6 blends.