Blends of SBS triblock copolymer with poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide)/polystyrene mixture

Blends of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) or styrene- ethylene/1-butene-styrene (SEBS) triblock copolymers with a commercial mixture of polystyrene (PS) and poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) were prepared in the melt at different temperatures according to the chemical kind of the copolymer. Although solution-cast SBS/PPO and SBS/PS blends were already known in the literature, a general and systematic study of the miscibility of the PS/PPO blend with a styrene-based triblock copolymer in the melt was still missing. The thermal and mechanical behavior of SBS/(PPO/PS) blends was investigated by means of DSC and dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMTA). The results were then compared to analogous SEBS/(PPO/PS) blends, for which the presence of a saturated olefinic block allowed processing at higher temperatures (220degreesC instead of 180degreesC). All the blends were further characterized by SEM and TGA to tentatively relate the observed properties with the blends' morphology and degradation temperature. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.