Wb. Xie et al., Mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties of poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) and copolyester LCP blends, J APPL POLY, 82(2), 2001, pp. 477-488
Binary blends of a liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) and poly(ethylene 2,6-n
aphthalate) (PEN) were melt blended and injection molded. The mechanical pr
operties were studied as a function of LCP content. Both the ultimate tensi
le strength and Young's modulus are higher than the theoretical values pred
icted by the rule of mixtures and they display a synergistic behavior at 70
wt % LCP content. However, the tensile strength decreases with LCP content
and Young's modulus remained unchanged at lower LCP contents (10 to 30 wt
%). The poor mechanical property is attributed to the immiscibility between
PEN and LCP and the fibrillation behavior of LCP as revealed by differenti
al scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) result
s. However, LCP and PEN are found to be partially miscible at higher LCP co
ntent, ascertained by DSC and dynamic mechanical analysis (I)DMA.). This is
attributed to the transesterification reaction between PEN and PET moiety
in the LCP molecules. SEM micrographs reveal a skin/core morphology in the
tensile bars, that is, the LCP is better oriented in the skin than in the c
ore region. At lower LCP content, the dispersed LCP phase is spherical in t
he core and ellipsoidal in the skin, with long axes oriented in the flow di
rection. DSC studies show that the crystallization rate is significantly en
hanced by the presence of LCP up to 50 wt %, where the LCP acts as a nuclea
ting agent for PEN crystallization. The melting temperature decreases with
LCP content, probably as a result of imperfect crystals formed in the prese
nce of LCP heterogeneous nucleating centers and the increasing miscibility
between LCP and PEN. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.