PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLY ( METHYL METHACRYLATE ) ( PMMA ) AND POLY ( VINYL CHLORIDE ) ( PVC ) ALLOYS
Alloys of Poly (Methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and Poly (vinyl Chloride) (PVC) were prepared by solvent casting techniques. Physiochemical characteristics of the products were studied. It was found that at certain relative concentration, some of these properties were enhanced, while in some, degraded relative to the constituent homopolymers. These results were interpreted in terms of the interactions between the components of these blends. By means of FT infra red studies, it was established that functional groups were the major players in interactions. Other modes include dipole-dipole, van der waals and mere physical entanglements.
Compatibilisation and reactive blending
The achievement of compatibilisation, whether by addition of a third component (a so-called ‘compatibiliser’) or by inducing in situ chemical reaction between blend components (reactive blending), has played an important role in the development of polymer blends. Indeed most commercial blends are considered to be compatible. The first question must therefore be ‘what do we mean by compatibility?’ The answer is not necessarily straightforward, as many workers in the past have used different definitions.
Physico-chemical properties of γ-irradiated LDPE-iPP blends
Abstract Low density polyethylene-isotactic polypropylene blends have been irradiated in the dose range 0–150 Mrad. Structural modifications have been investigated by means of solubility, calorimetric and density measurements. Slight interactions between the effect of irradiation and the effect of blending have been observed for the blends containing small amounts of one component.