Effect of epoxy resin on the thermal, mechanical and rheological properties of polybutylene terephthalate/glycidyl methacrylate functionalized methyl methacrylate-butadiene blend

Abstract

Epoxy resin was used to modify polybutylene terephthalate(PBT) and glycidyl methacrylate functionalized methyl methacrylate-butadiene(MB-g-GMA) blend. Results show that MB-g-GMA dispersed in PBT matrix uniformly and PBT/MB-g-GMA/epoxy blends reveal good compatibility. However, the added epoxy resin restricted the mobility of PBT macromolecular chains during the growth process of the crystal, which reduced the final crystallinity of PBT. The PBT/MB-g-GMA blend containing 1%(mass fraction) epoxy resin exhibited good mechanical properties. For example, the notched impact strength of the PBT/MB-g-GMA blend with 1%(mass fraction) epoxy resin was about 2 times that of PBT/MB-g-GMA blend. Sanning electron microscope(SEM) results show that the shear yielding of the PBT matrix and the cavitations of rubber particles were the major toughening mechanisms. The chemical reaction between PBT and epoxy resin induced the high complex viscosity and storage modulus of PBT/MB-g-GMA blend.