Morphology, crystallization behaviors, and mechanical properties of PA1010/HIPS and PA1010/HIPS-g-MA blends

The binary blends of polyamide 1010 (PA1010) with the high-impact polystyrene (HIPS)/maleic anhydride (MA) graft copolymer (HIPS-g-MA) and with HIPS were prepared using a wide composition range. Different blend morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy according to the nature and content of PA1010 used. Compared with the PA1010/HIPS binary blends, the domain sizes of dispersed-phase particles in PA1010/HIPS-g-MA blends were much smaller than that in PA1010/HIPS blends at the same compositions. It was found that the tensile properties of PA1010/HIPS-g-MA blends were obviously better than that of PA 1010/HIPS blends. Wide-angle xray diffraction analyses were performed to confirm that the number of hydrogen bonds in the PA1010 phase decreased in the blends of PA1010/HIPS-g-MA. These behaviors could be attributed to the chemical interactions between the two components and good dispersion in PA1010/HIPS-g-MA blends.