STUDY ON INTERNAL-FRICTION CHARACTERISTICS OF POLY(PHENYLENE SULFIDE) POLY(ETHERSULFONE) BLENDS AND COMPOSITES REINFORCED BY CARBON-FIBER

The compatibility and relaxation behavior of poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS)/poly(ethersulfone) (PES) blends and their composites reinforced by carbon fiber (CF-PPS/PES) have been studied by internal friction analysis method. The experimental results show: (1) There is interaction on a molecular-scale between PPS and PES in blends and blending ratio is the key factor to determine the degree of such interaction; (2) There is a rather wide continuous distribution of relaxation times for the secondary relaxation of PES in both blends and composites, and the half-width of the relaxation time distribution function for the relaxation process bears a relation to the relative content of the PPS component; (3) Peak height and peak temperature originating from the glass transition of PPS decrease with increasing the starting temperature of the internal friction measurement; (4) PPS/PES blends and CF-PPS/PES composites are thermodynamically metastable, and thermal history exerts considerable influence on phase separation behavior.