Novel reactive liquid rubber with maleimide end groups for the toughening of unsaturated polyester resins

An amino-terminated butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer was chemically modified into a maleimido-terminated rubber and was used as a toughening agent for an unsaturated polyester resin. The reactive rubber was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The mechanical and fracture properties of the blends containing the unmodified and the modified rubbers were investigated. Furthermore, a morphological analysis was carried out by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. A substantial enhancement of toughness was found when the modified rubber was used in place of the plain copolymer. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.