Miscibility and mechanical properties of poly(styrene-co-4-vinylpyridine) and poly(butyl acrylate-co-acrylic acid) ionomer blends

The miscibility of polystyrene with poly(butyl acrylate) is very poor. Ionic interactions have been utilized recently as miscibility enhancers. In this paper, dynamic mechanical studies indicate that ion pair-ion pair interactions can be utilized to achieve miscibility in blends of polystyrene and poly(butyl acrylate). The styrenes contain 0-15 mol% quaternary ammonium salt of 4-vinylpyridine, while the butyl acrylates contain 0-15mol% potassium acrylate groups. The miscibility increases with increase of ion content. When the ion content exceeds 11 mol%, the polymers can be completely miscible. The mechanical properties of the ionomers and their blends were also studied. The results indicate that the tensile strength of ionomer blends is higher than that of corresponding poly(butyl acrylate-co-potassium acrylate)s (PBA-AA-K). The elongation at break of ionomer blends is higher than that of the corresponding poly(styrene-co-N-methyl-4-vinylpyridinium iodide) (PS-4VP-Q). (C) 1998 SCI.