THERMAL-ANALYSIS OF BLENDS OF POLY(ETHYLENE COACRYLIC ACID) (PEA) AND EPOXIDIZED NATURAL-RUBBER (ENR)

The decomposition behavior of blends of poly(ethylene co-acrylic acid) (PEA) and epoxidised natural rubber (ENR) have been studied by thermogravimetric (TG) and (first) derivative thermogravimetric analysis. The thermograms of ENR show a clear two-stage degradation, whereas that of PEA exhibits three-stage degradation. Surprisingly, in the blends containing 70 and 50% of ENR, multistage degradation is observed, whereas blends containing 30, 20 and 10% ENR exhibit two-stage decomposition with a T-1max (first maximum decomposition temperature) at 430 degrees C. This higher T-1max in the latter blends indicates the existence of a single phase, owing to strong chemical interactions during melt processing. Activation energy at 10% degradation and half life at 200 degrees C of the blends have been reported.