PROPERTIES OF ETHYLENE-PROPYLENE COPOLYMER PA-1010 BLENDS USING ETHYLENE-PROPYLENE COPOLYMER-GRAFT-ACRYLIC ACID AS A COMPATIBILIZING AGENT/

The modification of ethylene-propylene copolymer (EP) has been accompl ished by radical EP-graft-acrylic acid (EP-g-AA) has been used to obta in ternary PA/EP/EP-g-AA blends by melt mixing. Different blend morpho logies were observed by scanning electron microscopy; the domain size of the EP-dispersed phase in the polyamide 1010 matrix of compatibiliz ed blends decreased compared with that of uncompatibilized blends. It is found that EP-g-AA used as the third component has a profound effec t on the mechanical properties of the resulting blends. This behavior has been attributed to serious chemical interactions taking place betw een the two components. Thermal analysis shows that some thermal prope rties of PA in compatibilized PA/EP/EP-g-AA changed because of chemica l reactions taken place during the blending process. Wide angle x-ray diffraction measurements also confirmed this result. (C) 1996 John Wil ey & Sons, Inc.