A Brief Review of Polymer Blend Technology

Abstract

Thermodynamically miscible, single amorphous-phase multi--component polymer blends with good physical properties are rapidly being discovered as researchers become aware that miscible polymer pairs require chemical structures which form strong specific interactions. Thermodynamically immiscible, multiphase blends continue to be developed as a variety of methods, including use of interfacial agents, morphology control, and interpenetrating network formation, are used to improve physical properties by enhancing interphase stress transfer. Recent commercial applications of both types of blends are given and their economic and property advantages are discussed.T^he concept of appropriately combining together two or more different A polymers to obtain a new material system with the desirable features of its constituents is not new. Over the years, numerous systems based on the chemical combination of different monomers through random, block, and graft copolymerization methods have been developed with this goal in mind. For similar reasons the coating and rubber industries have long blended together different low molecular weight polymers; and particularly over the last decade, the interest in polymer blend systems as a way to meet new market applications with minimum development cost has increased rapidly.It is the purpose of this chapter to briefly examine the present state of the art of polymer blends from both a technical and commercial standpoint. Because of the large variety of blend systems currently being investigated and used commercially, it will not be possible to present an in-depth discussion of specific results. Instead, the first two sections of this chapter will concentrate on the key concepts and fundamental 0-8412-0457-8/79/33-176-315$05.25/0

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