Thermoplastic interpenetrating polymer networks of a triblock copolymer elastomer and an lonomeric plastic. II. Mechanical behavior

Abstract

AbstractThermoplastic interpenetrating polymer networks, IPN's, are defined as combinations of two physically crosslinked polymers. A styrene‐b‐ethylene‐co‐butylene‐b‐styrene (SEBS) triblock elastomer was combined with an ionomer prepared from a random copolymer of styrene, methacrylic acid, and isoprene (90/10/1 by volume), and subsequently neutralized. Two subclasses of the thermoplastic IPN's were identified. A sequential polymerization method yielded the chemically blended thermoplastic IPN's (CBT IPN's). Melt blending of the separately synthesized polymers produced the mechanically blended thermoplastic IPN's (MBT IPN's). Stress‐strain and Rheovibron characterization revealed that the CBT IPN's exhibited greater tensile strength and higher elongation at break, but lower moduli than the MBT IPN materials of the same overall composition. Analysis of moduli data with the theories of Takayanagi, Davies, Budiansky, and Kerner disclosed more equal dual phase continuity for the MBT IPN's than the CBT IPN's at each composition. The low modulus of the more rubbery CBT IPN compositions was attributed to a decrease in the effective chain end‐to‐end distance between crosslinks in the elastomeric (EB) center block, brought about by the synthetic method.