Compatibilization and elastomer toughening of polyamide-6 (PA6)/poly(phenylene ether) (PPE) blends

In the elastomer-modified (polyamide-6/poly(phenylene ether) (PA6/PPE) = 50/50 blends, poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (SMA) was demonstrated to be an efficient reactive compatibilizer. The G1651 elastomer was shown to be an effective impact modifier to result in superior toughness and heat-deflection temperature (HDT) than is the 1901X elastomer for the SMA-compatibilized blends because G1651 particles exclusively reside within the dispersed PPE phase but 1901X particles tend to distribute in the PA6 matrix and/or along the interface. The apparent average diameter of the dispersed PPE phase is insignificantly dependent on the elastomer content in the G1651-modified blend, whereas it increases with increase of the elastomer content in the 1901X-modified blend. Moreover, there exists a critical elastomer content, 15 phr, for the ductile-brittle transition of the G1651-modified SMA-modified PA6/PPE blends. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.