Toughening Modification of Poly(butylene terephthalate)/Polycarbonate Blends by Poly(ethylene-co-octene)

Abstract

New toughened poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/bisphenol A polycarbonate (PC) blends were obtained by melt blending with commercial poly(ethylene-co-octene) copolymer (POE), varying the POE content up to 10 wt%, in a twin screw extruder, followed by injection moulding. The influence of POE on the properties of the PBT/PC blends was investigated in terms of mechanical testing, dynamic mechanical thermal (DMTA) analysis, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). The results showed that addition of POE led to remarkable increases in the impact strength, elongation at break and Vicat temperature, and a reduction in the tensile strength and flexural properties of PBT/PC blends. The morphology of the blends was observed using SEM and the average diameter of the dispersed phase was determined by image analysis. The critical inter-particle distance for PBT/PC was determined.