Miscibility of blends of ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer and polypropylene

The miscibility of polymers is not only an important basis for selecting a proper blending method, but it is also one of the key factors in determinin g the morphology and properties of the blends. The miscibility between ethy lene-propylenediene terpolymer (EPDM) and polypropylene (PP) was explored b y means of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, transmission electron micro scopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showe d that a decrease in the PP content and an increase of the crosslinking den sity of EPDM in the EPDM/PP blends caused the glass-transition temperature peaks of EPDM to shift from a lower temperature to higher one, yet there wa s almost no variance in the glass-transition temperature peaks of PP and th e degree of crystallinity of PP decreased. It was observed that the blends prepared with different mixing equipment, such as a single-screw extruder a nd an open mill, had different mechanical properties and blends prepared wi th the former had better mechanical properties than those prepared with the latter. The TEM micrographs revealed that the blends were composed of two phases: a bright, light PP phase and a dark EPDM phase, As the crosslinking degree of EPDM increased, the interface between the phases of EPDM and PP was less defined and the EPDM gradually dispersed in the PP phase became a continuous phase. The results indicated that EPDM and PP were both partiall y miscible. The mechanical properties of the blends had a lot to do with th e blend morphology and the miscibility between the blend components. (C) 20 02 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.