Sa. Xu et al., MORPHOLOGY AND DEFORMATION MECHANISMS OF POLYSTYRENE LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE BLENDS STUDIED BY TEM, Polymer Journal, 27(6), 1995, pp. 607-613
The present investigation deals with morphology and deformation mechan
isms of the plastic-toughened plastic system composed of a crystalline
(low density polyethylene, LDPE) and an amorphous (polystyrene, PS) c
omponent. By proper use of a solution-melt procedure of specimen prepa
ration for transmission electron microscope (TEM), not only the multip
hase structure of the PS/LDPE blends, but also details of the crystall
ine morphology of LDPE in the blends have been successfully revealed.
Based on the TEM morphological observations of the blends under in-sit
u stretching process, the toughness and deformation mechanisms of the
blends are explored. It is found that multiple-craze is the main mecha
nism of deformation and toughening when LDPE constitutes the dispersed
phase, whereas shear-yielding becomes major deformation mode when LDP
E forms the continuous phase.