THE ROLE OF SPECIFIC INTERACTIONS AND TRANSREACTIONS ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF POLYESTER IONOMERS WITH POLY(ETHYLENE-TEREPHTHALATE) AND NYLON-6,6

The compatibility of polyester ionomers with polar polymers (i.e., pol y(ethylene terephthalate) and nylon 6,6) is under investigation for th eir potential use as minor component compatibilizers. Binary blends ha ve been prepared by both solution and melt-mixed methods to determine the effect of melt-processing on blend compatibility. The effect of th e sulfonate group and counterion type on compatibility was evaluated b y blending sulfonated and nonsulfonated forms of the amorphous polyest er ionomer with both nylon 6,6 and poly(ethylene terephthalate). The m elting point and phase behavior of the blends were determined by diffe rential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), respectively. A comparison of the melting behavior between the melt and solution blends suggests compatibility due to sp ecific interactions for the ionomer/nylon 6,6 blends. and transesterif ication for the ionomer/poly(ethylene terephthalate) blends. The phase morphology of the melt blends is consistent with the results obtained by DSC analysis.