STUDY BY FT-IR SPECTROPHOTOMETRY OF THE I NTERFACIAL INTERACTIONS IN PS SBS POLYMER COMPOUNDS/

In this work, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FT-i.r.) h as been used to measure the interfacial interactions in thermoplastic blends composed of diferents amounts of polystyrene (PS) matrix and th e copolymer poly(styrene-butadiene) (SBS), acting as an elastomeric fi ller. In order to detect various interaction levels, samples have been prepared according to three different methods: solid samples (the ble nd is achieved in solid state, leading to a zero interaction level), e xtruded-injected samples (the interaction should be intermediate betwe en that in solid and film samples) and film samples (dissolution of ex truded-injected samples with further solvent evaporation, leading to a maximum interaction level). By thoroughly analyzing the displacements of the maximum absorption intensities within various spectral areas, the presence of interfacial interactions has been detected as a functi on of the elastomeric phase content in the polymeric blend.