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Supercritical CO2 in controlling phase morphology of polypropylene/polystyrene blends and the corresponding mechanical properties and foamability

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) during continuous extrusion on controlling phase structure of polypropylene (PP)/polystyrene (PS) blends and the corresponding mechanical properties and foamability. Viscosity reduction of PP and PS was studied using a slit die rheometer attached to a tandem extrusion system. The scCO2 was injected at 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0 wt% to PP/PS blends during extrusion. It was found that a sharp decrease in the size of the dispersed phase was achieved with the injection of scCO2. The size of the minor phase for 75/25 PP-2/PS blend with 4.0 wt% scCO2 was significantly reduced to 50 nm, due to the viscosity ratio of PP-2 to PS close to one. The mechanical properties of the polymer blends were closely related to the phase structure, and better dispersion favored enhanced mechanical properties. Foamability of the PP/PS blends was also found to be closely dependent on phase morphology, and better dispersion endorsed uniform cell structure with smaller cell size and high cell densities.

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Acknowledgments

Financial supports from National Natural Science Foundation of China (51473181), Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (LQ14E030006) and Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo (2014A610131) are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ningbo Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Polymers and Composites Division, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1219 Zhongguan West Road, Ningbo, 315201, Zhejiang, China

    Kun Wang, Shusheng Wang, Fei Wu, Yongyan Pang, Wentao Zhai & Wenge Zheng

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  1. Kun Wang
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  2. Shusheng Wang
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  3. Fei Wu
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  4. Yongyan Pang
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Correspondence to Yongyan Pang or Wenge Zheng.

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Wang, K., Wang, S., Wu, F. et al. Supercritical CO2 in controlling phase morphology of polypropylene/polystyrene blends and the corresponding mechanical properties and foamability. Polym. Bull. 73, 941–957 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-015-1528-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-015-1528-8

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