The study of rubber-modified plastics with higher heat resistance and higher toughness and its application

For rubber-modified plastics, toughness enhancement is generally at the cost of heat resistance. Of significance, this paper reported a finding that rubber-modified plastics with a special morphology could enhance toughness and heat resistance cooperatively. The special morphology was such that an interface in situ formed between plastic matrix and rubber particle had higher hardness than plastic matrix. As a result, the hard interface not only helped rubber soft component integrate with plastic matrix by covalent bonds to impart plastic matrix high toughness, but also covered rubber nanoparticles as hard shells to protect them from deforming at high temperature. The special morphology had been achieved in rubber-modified epoxies and phenolic molding material. The forming mechanism of the hard interface was studied in detail with AFM, DSC and in situ FTIR, by using rubber-modified epoxy resin as an example. The finding could be applied to any rubber-modified plastics as long as the special morphology could be realized.