Abstract

A polymer blend which is composed of poly-p-phenylene benzobisthiazole (PBT) and poly-2,5(6)benzimidazole (ABPBI) has been processed into both a phase-separated material and a “molecular composite”. In the molecular composite, the PBT and ABPBI components are dispersed at a scale finer than 3 nm. This results in high mechanical properties as the rod-like, high strength PBT reinforces the flexible-coil ABPBI matrix. In the phase- separated blend, micron-sized aggregates form within a more ductile matrix. This study qualitatively examines the structure and composition of the phase- separated 20% PBT / 80% ABPBI blend using the analytical electron microscopy (AEM) techniques of energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), and microdiffraction. Beam damage of the components is also considered.

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