High performance reactive blends composed of poly(p-phenylene sulfide) and ethylene copolymers

Poly(p-phenylene sulfide) (PPS) is a high performance polymer that has superior chemical resistance and heat stability, but its brittleness is a serious drawback for applications. The objective of this work is to improve the physical properties of PPS by incorporating a small amount of either poly(ethylene-ran-methylacrylate-ran-glycidyl methacrylate) (EMA-GMA) or poly(ethylene-ran-glycidyl methacrylate)-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) (EGMA-g-PMMA) by melt mixing under a high shear rate. It was demonstrated that the chemical reaction between PPS and EMA-GMA (or EGMA-g-PMMA) proceeded efficiently at the interface and that the domains of EMA-GMA (or EGMA-g-PMMA) were finely dispersed in the PSS matrix with size of ca 0.1-0.3 mu m. The resultant copolymers formed at the interface contributed to a decrease in the interfacial tension and an increase in the interfacial adhesion so that the obtained PPS/EMA-GMA blends (or PPS/EGMA-g-PMMA blends) showed excellent mechanical properties, at the same time retaining high thermal stability. Polymer Journal (2011) 43, 991-999; doi:10.1038/pj.2011.106; published online 19 October 2011