Effects of the Competition between Grafting Reaction and Decomposition on the Miscibility and Rheological Behaviors of PS/POE Blends in the Presence of AlCl3

Abstract

For increasing the compatibility of polystyrene (PS) and polyolefin elastomer (POE) blends, a Lewis acid catalyst, aluminium chloride (AlCl3), was adopted to initiate the Friedel-Crafts alkylation reaction and induce the formation of PS-graft-POE copolymer. The dynamic mechanical and rheological tests were used to study the effects of catalyst content on the miscibility and rheological behaviors. The results showed that the viscosity increased and the MFI decreased with the increase of the catalyst content. However, when the catalyst content was overmuch, the viscosity decreased and the MFI increased. The variety of miscibility and rheological behaviors of PS/POE blends was the results of the competition between in situ graft reaction and decomposition of blending compounds.