Compatibilization and toughening of immiscible ternary blends of polyamide 1010, polypropylene, and ABS resin

The ternary blends of three versatile polymers of polyamide 1010 (PA1010), polypropylene (PP), and ABS resin (ABS) were studied. As a compatibilizer, PP was multimonomer melt grafted in the presence of maleic anhydride (MAH), styrene (St), and dicumyl peroxide. The effects of multimonomers melt grafting blends of MAH and St on the crystallization behavior, morphology, and mechanical properties of PA1010/ABS/PP blends were investigated. The results showed that the graft copolymer generated in situ by the anhydride groups of grafted PP (g-PP) and the amino end of PA1010 has reduced the interfacial tension of blends efficiently. The interaction of St groups of the graft copolymer with ABS was helpful to improve the compatibility of the three components during melt blending process. The size of dispersed phases in the blends was reduced remarkably and the mechanical properties were greatly improved when the content of g-PP in PA1010/ABS/PP blends is increased to 10%. The tensile strength of the compatibilized PA1010/ABS/PP blends was improved by a factor of 11.7, whereas the impact strength and elongation at break were increased by 4 and 4.9 times, respectively. The introduction of multimonomer melt g-PP is shown to be an effective approach to modifying immiscible multipolymer blends, which have many potential applications.