In-phase and out-of-phase tensile properties of polypropylene/polyamide 6 blends modified by a succinic anhydride industrial waste based interfacial agent as determined at the glass transition temperature of the olefinic phase

Abstract

This work deals with the study of the evolution at the glass transition temperature of the polypropylene of both the in-phase and the out-of-phase responses of polypropylene/polyamide-6 blends by considering the compatibilization due to the presence of an industrial waste based interfacial modifier, a succinic anhydride acid (SA) grafted atactic polypropylene (aPP-SA/SA) with 3% w/w grafted SA (3.0·10−4 g.mol−1). The novelty of this is that it contains terminal, backbone and bridge SA grafts. The combined effects of both the polyamide and the interfacial agent are assumed to cause changes in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polypropylene phase. In fact, this study explores the changes in both the elastic and the viscous behavior of the iPP/PA 6 blend considering all the possible composition range (0 up to 100%) of each polymer phase in the blend. The work has been twofold planned. On one hand, we have used dynamic mechanical parameters to evidence the interfacial modifications caused by the presence of aPP-SA/SA in the iPP/PA6 system as determined at the iPP Tg. On the other, obtaining a mathematical model capable to predict the overall behavior of the blend for whatever compositional range considered. So, and assuming that the components of the blend interact each other, a Box-Wilson experimental design considering the amount of iPP (and indirectly of PA6) and of the aPP-SA/SA interfacial agent was used to obtain the mathematical model.