STUDIES ON THE COMPATIBILIZATION BETWEEN POLYAMIDE AND POLY(ARYLETHERSULFONE)

The influence of functionalized poly(arylether sulfone)s on the adhesi on of a poly(arylether sulfone) and a polyamide was studied using a fr acture test of sandwich specimens. All reactive compatibilizers used i mprove the interfacial adhesion. The chemical reaction at the interfac e between a maleic anhydride grafted polysulfone and a polyamide was a nalyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Differing crack propagati on mechanisms at the interface were observed by optical microscopy dur ing the fracture test for the reactive and non-reactive systems. Furth ermore, the fracture surfaces were studied by optical and atomic force microscopy. Using transmission electron microscopy on ultrathin secti ons taken across the interface, it could then be shown that the interf ace was reinforced by the chemical reaction of maleic anhydride grafte d polysulfone with the polyamide. The non-reactive system fails at the weak interface, whereas strongly reinforced samples show cohesive fai lure in the polyamide bulk phase.