High impact polystyrene (HIPS) series was synthesized by the mass-suspension process using polybutadiene (PB) rubbers with different cis-1,4, trans-1,4, and vinyl-1,2 isomers content. The HIPS were characterized by TEM, GPC, DMA, and DSC analyses. It was found that the dynamic mechanical properties of HIPS strongly depend upon the microstructure of PB used as a modifier due to the different tendency of PB isomers to promote grafting, cross-linking, and crystallization. The DMA for HIPS synthesized from high cis and high trans rubbers show additional relaxations at the low temperature region. The DSC results for gels extracted from these HIPS exhibited melting endotherms confirming the existence of crystalline domains.
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