the advantages of both the rheological and physical properties of the compositions of the present invention can be more readily appreciated by reference to the following examples and tables . unless otherwise specified , all measurements are in parts per hundred by weight . the preparation of sulfonated epdm has been well - described in the patent and published literature ( for example , see u . s . pat . no . 4 , 184 , 988 or acs monograph edited by a . eisenberg , 1980 , p . 4 ). a zinc sulfonated epdm was prepared via those procedures containing 10 meq . of zinc sulfate , designated tp 398 . the resulting polymer was available as a free - flowing crumb and employed in that form as a blending component in the following examples . a copolymer of styrene and vinyl pyridine was prepared via a free radical emulsion copolymerization process . the preparation was conducted as follows : in a suitable , stirred reaction vessel under a nitrogen blanket the following ingredients were charged : the polymerization was conducted at 50 ° c . for 24 hours and the resultant emulsion was fluid and uniform . three ml . of methanol containing 0 . 1 % of hydroquinone was added as an inhibitor and the reaction mixture was precipitated in a large excess of acetone . the precipitate was filtered , then suspended in methanol and blended in a waring blender to finally disperse the coagulated polymer . the suspension was filtered and dryed in a vacuum oven at 60 ° c . for 24 hours . the resulting product represented 80 % conversion of the reactive monomers and contained 1 . 68 % nitrogen corresponding to 12 . 5 mole % 4 - vinyl pyridine incorporation . five grams of 20 meq . sulfonated epdm , zn salt of example 1 when milled at 180 ° c ., remains as a powder . with the addition of 0 . 25 g ( 5 phr ) styrene - co - 4 - vinyl pyridine of example 2 and milling at 180 ° c ., a rough spongy blend is obtained . in a second blend , 0 . 5 g ( 10 phr ) styrene - co - 4 - vinyl pyridine was milled with 5 g of the sulfo - epdm at the same temperature , obtaining a denser , less spongy blend . a third blend was prepared under the same conditions with the level of styrene - co - 4 - vinyl pyridine increased to 1 g ( 20 phr ). a thicker , denser , tough blend was obtained . each blend , as well as the stock sulfonated epdm which had been milled in a similar manner at 180 ° c ., was compression molded into a pad ( 350 ° f ., 20 tons ). stress - strain measurements obtained ( table iii ) show increasing tensile strength and modulus , as well as increased elongation with increased levels of styrene - co - 4 - vinyl pyridine in the blend . along with this enhancement in physical properties , an improvement in flow versus time is observed in melt index rheometry of the blends as compared to the control sample . thermal mechanical analysis data show indications of softening at about 61 ° c . for the 20 phr styrene - co - 4 - vinyl pyridine blend . blends of 20 meq . sulfonated epdm , zn salt of example 1 were prepared with polystyrene ( dow styron 666 ) by milling at 180 ° c . the first blend was prepared by adding 0 . 25 g . ( 5 phr ) polystyrene to 5 g . of the sulfonated epdm , obtaining a flabby , spongy powder . in a second blend , 0 . 5 g ( 10 phr ) polystyrene was milled with 5 g . of the sulfonated epdm at 180 ° c ., obtaining clumps of flat sponge . a third blend was prepared under the same conditions with 1 g . ( 20 phr ) polystyrene blended with 5 g . sulfonated epdm . here slabs of spongy product were obtained . a fourth blend containing 2 g . ( 40 phr ) polystyrene and 5 g . sulfonated epdm produced a rough , stiff sheet . compression molded pads of each blend were prepared ( 350 ° f ., 20 tons ) and stress - strain measurements obtained ( table iv ). the data show that with the addition of polystyrene , tensile strength is decreased . as a higher level of polystyrene is incorporated , elongation decreases . these examples clearly show that blends of sulfonated epdm and polystyrene , which do not contain the amine groups to interact with the metal sulfonated species do not possess the high strength and elongation of those systems described in example 3 . instead they are stiff , weak , cheesy and exhibit incompatibility . table iii______________________________________styrene - co -- 4 ten - elonga - sam - vinyl pyridine , modulus sile , tionple phr 100 % 300 % 500 % psi % ______________________________________iii - 1 0 180 400 1012 1205 550iii - 2 5 260 566 1297 1722 590iii - 310 313 663 1421 3014 660iii - 420 448 989 2146 3099 610______________________________________ table iv______________________________________poly - styrene , modulus tensile , elongationsample phr 100 % 300 % 500 % psi % ______________________________________iv - 1 0 180 400 1012 1205 550iv - 2 5 234 -- -- 315 200iv - 3 10 -- -- -- 246 90iv - 4 20 -- -- -- 316 30iv - 5 40 -- -- -- 554 10______________________________________ in a similar manner and under similar conditions to example 3 , mill blends were prepared of sulfonated epdm , zn salt ( example 1 ) and poly - t - butyl styrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine at levels of 5 , 10 , 20 and 40 phr poly - t - butyl styrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine . a blend of sulfonated epdm containing 40 phr of poly - t - butyl styrene ( dp = 600 ) were also prepared . the poly - t - butyl styrene - co - 4 - vinyl pyridine was prepared by polymerization of the following mixture : the product obtained contained 0 . 94 % nitrogen corresponding to 10 . 36 mole % vinyl pyridine . compression molded pads ( 350 ° f ., 20 tons ) were prepared of each blend and stress - strain measurements obtained ( table v ). an improvement in flow versus time is observed in melt index rheometry of the poly - t - butyl styrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine blends , as compared to the sulfonated epdm control sample . these experiments can best be compared at 40 parts of poly - t - butyl styrene - vinyl pyridine copolymer with sulfonated epdm versus 40 parts of poly - t - butyl styrene copolymer with sulfonated epdm . in the former case , we achieve a modulus at 100 % elongation of almost 1000 psi , while in the latter case , a value of about 280 psi is obtained . clearly , the system involving aminemetal sulfonate interactions exhibits dramatically enhanced properties , while the control ( with poly - t - butyl styrene ) is much weaker . table v__________________________________________________________________________ modulus tensile elongationsample blended with phr 100 % 200 % 300 % 500 % psi % __________________________________________________________________________v - 1 -- -- 180 -- 400 1012 1205 550v - 2 poly - t - butyl 5 295 -- -- -- 368 170 styrene - 4 vinyl pyridinev - 3 poly - t - butyl 10 308 -- -- -- 317 130 styrene - 4 vinyl pyridinev - 4 poly - t - butyl 20 712 902 -- -- 931 210 styrene - 4 vinyl pyridinev - 5 poly - t - butyl 40 998 -- -- -- 1009 110 styrene - 4 vinyl pyridinev - 6 poly - t - butyl 40 141 -- 279 -- 296 330 sytrene__________________________________________________________________________ mill blending sulfonated epdm , zn salt ( example 1 ) with poly - styrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine ( example 2 ) in the presence of zinc stearate . a zinc stearate ( znst 2 ) plasticized blend was prepared containing 10 % zinc stearate by mill blending 25 g . sulfonated epdm with 2 . 5 g . znst 2 at 135 ° c . the blend was a smooth , clear , rubbery sheet . a mill blend of the znst 2 plasticized sulfonated epdm was prepared at 135 ° c ., incorporating 10 phr poly - styrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine copolymer . a hazy , rubbery pad was obtained . a second mill blend was prepared at 135 ° c ., incorporating 20 phr polystyrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine into the znst 2 plasticized sulfonated epdm . a cloudy , rubbery pad was obtained . compression molded pads ( 350 ° f ., 20 tons ) were prepared via stress - strain measurements obtained ( table vi ). incorporating poly - styrene - 4 - vinyl pyridine is seen to increase tensile strength and modulus without adversely effecting elongation . most importantly it is seen that the combination of zinc stearate , zinc sulfonated epdm , and styrene - vinyl pyridine copolymer provides a very stiff , high strength product with excellent elongation . the previous examples of this application have shown that the blends of the sulfonate and the amine - containing polymers give blends of enhanced properties . often these blends can have enhanced melt viscosities as well , which can be disadvantageous for certain melt processing activities . the addition of zinc stearate or similar plasticizers improves the melt flow and the physical properties of these blends . while previous patents have shown zinc stearate can improve properties and flow of sulfonated epdm , this finding is the first to our knowledge that polymer complexes can be improved . table vi__________________________________________________________________________ styrene - co -- 4 - vinyl pyridine modulus , psi tensile elongationsample znst . sub . 2 , % phr 100 % 300 % 500 % psi % __________________________________________________________________________vi - 1 -- -- 180 400 1012 1205 550vi - 2 10 10 256 496 1434 5108 640vi - 3 10 10 332 736 1701 5353 700vi - 4 10 20 423 1175 2574 4885 630__________________________________________________________________________ it is evident from the examples above and from the discussion that there is a wide spectrum of blends which can be prepared from a giiven combination of two polymers , the sulfonate polymer and the polymer containing basic nitrogen groups . the stoichiometry of the resulting complex can be varied over very broad ranges depending on the specific properties deisred . for the purposes of this invention , the ratio of sulfonate to basic nitrogen functions can range from about 0 . 03 to about 30 , preferably from about 0 . 1 to 10 . for many applications , a most preferred ratio is from about 0 . 2 to about 4 . since many modifications and variations of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention thereof , it is not intended to limit the spirit or scope thereof to the specific examples thereof .