Effect of compatibilization on the crystallization behavior and the physical properties of polypropylene/polyamide blends

Polypropylene/polyamide (PP/PA) blend systems have been prepared to study the influence of compatibilization on the crystallization behavior of the semi-crystalline polymer components and the morphology and properties of the blends. PP-g-MAH which was prepared by grafting maleic anhydride (MAH) on PP worked effectively as a compatibilizer. Since the crystallization of the dispersed PA was sensitively influenced by the compatibilization, it took place with greater supercooling down to the crystallization temperature region of the continuous PP phase. The improved impact strength, which resulted from the compatibilization, was observed for the compatibilized blends having the dispersed phase of less than 1 mu m. Meanwhile, both the compatibilized and the non-compatibilized blends did not show any big difference in the flexural modulus.