Novel Compatibilized Nylon-Based Ternary Blends with Polypropylene and Poly(lactic acid): Fractionated Crystallization Phenomena and Mechanical Performance

This paper presents an investigation into the behavior and performance of blends of Nylon 6 (PA6), polypropylene (PP), and poly(lactic acid) (PLA), compatibilized with maleic anhydride-grafted PP (PP-g-MA). The mechanical performance of ternary PA6/PP/PLA blends was superior to that of binary PA6/PP blends because of the addition of PLA. Through blending with PLA, the tensile and flexural strength and modulus were enhanced, maintaining performance similar to that of neat PA6. Tensile performance was further enhanced through reactive compatibilization of the blends with PP-g-MA due to the improved homogeneity of the materials. Impact behavior of the blends was found to be highly dependent on morphology, and the toughening behavior was observed at certain blending ratios. In PA6/PP blends, fractionated crystallization behavior was investigated through differential scanning calorimetry, in which both PA6 and PP droplets were crystallized at supercooled states. This effect was highly influenced by the presence of the compatibilizing agent and its effect on the morphology of the dispersed phase. As the droplet size of the dispersed phase was decreased to submicron levels, the efficiency of heterogeneous nucleation was limited. Crystallization of PLA in the blend was poor, but PP-g-MA was found to have an impact on its rate of crystallization.