Toughening of polycarbonate by core‐shell latex particles: Influence of particle size and spatial distribution on brittle‐ductile transition

Abstract

AbstractThe impact toughness of polycarbonate modified with acrylic core‐shell latex particles was investigated. Addition of impact modifiers with size ranging from 115.7 to 231.4 nm can result in maximum impact strength. Equations for spatial distribution of modified particles were proposed to associate the interparticle distance with particle size and modifier volume fraction in terms of two possible morphologies, given by T = d[0.91/(φ)1/3 − 1] or T = d[0.88/(φ)1/3 − 1]. The influence of particle size on brittle‐ductile transition was also studied. The results indicated that critical interparticle distance was not a definitive value and had a narrow region. Moreover, there existed a linear relationship between critical interparticle distance and modifier size, that is, critical interparticle distance would enlarge with the increasing of core‐shell particle size. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 1970–1977, 2010