Toughening polycarbonate with core-shell structured latex particles

The toughness as a function of temperature of polycarbonate modified by blending with core-shell structured latex particles was evaluated. Comparisons were made among a commercial core-shell latex (MBS), other core-shell (CS) latexes that incorporated a single component rubbery core, and a new class of interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) core-shell latexes with two elastomers in the core. Notched tensile tests differentiated among the blends in terms of their toughness. The most effective modifier at low temperatures was the commercial MBS latex. The CS latexes produced blends that were only slightly less tough than the MBS blends despite better dispersion of MBS and better adhesion to the matrix. The IPN blends were the least tough at low temperatures; however, at 25 degrees C, a blend with IPN had the highest impact strength. Differences between CS and MBS blends were attributed to differences in the percent of butadiene-containing rubber and the chemical nature of the shell. A comparison among the CS latexes showed that increasing the acrylonitrile content of the shell increased the toughness, and increasing the rubber content or the gel fraction of the core increased the toughness. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.