The correlation between morphological variations and Thermo-mechanical properties of the PA6/PC/PP ternary blends: An established boundary between structures

Abstract

Various morphologies of PA6/PC/PP/PP-MAH ternary blends including isolated, stack, and core-shell particles detected by FESEM micrographs are designed by the change of the PP-MAH/PP ratio. To quantify the population of structures, shell thickness, and the extent of the spreading shell, Not only is an axis calibrated by the image analysis software to quantitatively distinguish the boundary of morphological structures but the thickness of the shell also is measured according to a novel established universal concept. Afterward, the correlation between Polymorphism and morphology by DSC thermographs and deconvoluted WAXD patterns reveal that the direct contact between PA6 and PC chains promotes the γ-phase proportion due to the weak interaction, while the intervention of PP chains increases α-phase crystallites because of the co-crystallization at the interface by the PP-PA6 copolymer. Also, the notched Izod impact strength of the blend with PP-MAH/PP = 50/50 increased by 462.88% compared to PA6 due to not only the improvement of cavitation depending on the polymorphic structure and strain energy of the shell but also the transfer of stress from the matrix to the core. The development of particle coalescence during the cold-drawing caused by induced applied pressure on the core by the shell results in a microfibrillar fracture.

Keywords

• Ternary blend
• Interparticle distance
• Toughening
• Core-shell
• Fracture behavior