Super-toughness in compatibilized poly(butylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene-octene) copolymer blends

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/poly(ethylene-octene) (PEO) blends containing 1.0 wt% epoxy and from 0 to 30 wt% PEO were obtained by extrusion and injection molding. The blends were composed of two pure amorphous phases. The observed torque increases showed that epoxy reacted with PBT, leading to a fine and homogeneous morphology up to 15 wt% PEO content, which appeared larger and more heterogeneous at higher PEO contents. Toughness values fifteen-fold those of pure PBT were obtained with only 13 wt% PEO. The tensile properties, including ductility, decreased with increasing PEO content, indicating that the adhesion level necessary for high ductility is higher than that necessary for super-toughness. The inter-particle distance (tau) was the main parameter that controlled toughness. The comparison of the results of this work with those of the same PBT/PEO blends with two different compatibilizers provides additional strong evidence of the adhesion at the interphase as the main parameter that controls the critical tau in these modified thermoplastic/rubber blends.