Toughened Composite of Polycarbonate/Wollastonite with Styrene–Butadiene Copolymer and Ethylene‐Methyl Acrylate Elastomers

Abstract

AbstractTwo kinds of elastomers, styrene–butadiene copolymer (SBC) and ethylene‐methyl acrylate (EMA) were compounded by melt mixing wollastonite into polycarbonate (PC). The result demonstrated that EMA‐filled composites showed better mechanical properties compared to SBC‐filled composites, particularly elongation and impact strength. We observed a 53% increase in Izod impact strength, that is, 5.3‐fold increase in elongation of the PC/wollastonite/EMA composite by incorporating (7%) EMA. The composite also has an encouraging blending effect with a lower decrease in tensile strength of only 13%. Incorporation of EMA and SBC decreased the glass‐transition temperature (Tg) of the system from 148°C to 141°C. The rheological behavior of composites was also examined using a parallel plate rheometer. By increasing the SBC and EMA elastomer content, we observed an increase in shear viscosity, storage, and loss modulus of the composites. Scanning electron micrographs were used to study the phase structure of Izod‐fractured samples. A multiphase morphology was seen with good dispersion of wollastonite and EMA granules in the PC matrix.