THE EFFECT OF COMPATIBILIZATION OF MALEATED POLYPROPYLENE ON A BLEND OF POLYAMIDE-6 AND LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE COPOLYESTER

Blends of polyamide-6 (PA6) and thermotropic liquid crystalline polyme r (LCP) compatibilized with various maleic-anhydride-grafted polypropy lene (MAP) contents were injection-moulded. The effect of compatibiliz ation on the mechanical properties of the blends was investigated by m eans of tensile testing, drop weight Charpy impact measurement and dyn amic mechanical analysis. The static tensile measurement showed that t he strain-at-break depends strongly on the MAP content. The impact tes t also indicated that the critical strain energy release rate (G(IC)) is dependent on the MAP concentration. These results revealed that the 80%PA6/MAP(86/14)-20%LCP blend exhibits the highest strain-at-break a nd G(IC) values. Moreover, the tensile ductility and impact toughness tended to decrease dramatically with increasing MAP content. This was attributed to the chemical and thermal decomposition of PA6 during ble nding for the LCP/PA6 blends containing higher MAP concentration.