Properties and preparation of olefin block copolymer/thermoplastic polyurethane blends

Abstract

The properties of olefin block copolymer (OBC)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) blends with or without maleic anhydride (MA) modification were characterized and compared. Compared with the OBC/TPU blends, OBC-g-MA/TPU blends displayed finer morphology and reduced domain size in the dispersed phase. The crystallization temperatures of TPU decreased significantly from 155.9 8C (OBC/TPU) to 117.5 8C (OBC-g-MA/TPU) at low TPU composition in the blends, indicating the inhibition of crystallization through the sufficient interaction of modified OBC with TPU composition. The modified systems showed higher thermal stability than the unmodified systems over the investigated temperature range due to the enhanced interaction through inter-bonding. The highest improvement in tensile strength was more than fivefold for OBC-g-MA/TPU (50/50) in comparison with its unmodified blend via the enhanced interfacial interaction between OBC-g-MA and TPU. This also led to the highest Young's modulus of 77.8 6 3.9 MPa, about twofold increase, among the investigated blend systems. A corresponding improvement on the ductility was also observed for modified blends. The modification did not vary the glass transition temperature and crystalline structure much, thus the improvement in the mechanical properties was mainly attributed to the improved compatibility and interaction from the compatibilization effect as well as increased viscosity from the crosslinking effect for modified blends.

Enhancement of physical properties of thermoplastic polyurethanes by blending with cyclic olefin copolymer elastomer

“…In these studies, TPUs were blended with olefin block copolymer (OBC), polyolefin elastomer (POE), polyamide elastomer (PAE), maleic anhydride-grafted styrene-ethylenebutylene-styrene (SEBS-g-MA), and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). [16][17][18][19][20] Chen et al investigated thermal and mechanical properties of OBC/TPU blends with or without maleic anhydride (MA) modification. 16 They found that OBC-g-MA/TPU blends displayed finer morphology and higher thermal stability.…”

“…[16][17][18][19][20] Chen et al investigated thermal and mechanical properties of OBC/TPU blends with or without maleic anhydride (MA) modification. 16 They found that OBC-g-MA/TPU blends displayed finer morphology and higher thermal stability. They also reported a considerable improvement in the mechanical properties of OBC-g-MA/TPU blends such as tensile strength and Young's modulus compared to OBC/TPU blends.…”

“…Although there are many works in the improvement of impact resistance of some rigid polymers and engineering thermoplastics by introducing various types and amounts of TPUs, limited number of researches have yet been published in literature for improving of TPU properties by blending with other TPEs. In these studies, TPUs were blended with olefin block copolymer (OBC), polyolefin elastomer (POE), polyamide elastomer (PAE), maleic anhydride‐grafted styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene (SEBS‐g‐MA), and poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) 16–20 . Chen et al investigated thermal and mechanical properties of OBC/TPU blends with or without maleic anhydride (MA) modification 16 .…”

A novel underwater acoustically transparent material: Fluorosilicone polyester polyurethane

“…[1][2][3][4][5] PU also exhibits a number of desirable properties, including good acoustic properties, oil resistance, aging resistance, adhesion, and wear resistance. Moreover, the length of the main chain, the number of branches, and the degree of crosslinking can be controlled by changing the ratio of soft and hard segments, grafting, copolymerization, and so on; this changes the microstructure of PU.…”

Morphology and mechanical properties of Acrylonitrile‐styrene‐acrylate toughened plastics with block copolymer chain structure

“…Block copolymers are promising to solve above problems because of a well‐defined molecular structure . Many studies have shown that the mechanical and rheological properties of various blends are remarkably improved by adopting block copolymers . Similar to anionic polymerization, controlled/living radical polymerization (CLRP) is a powerful tool to synthesize complex polymers like block copolymers and gradient copolymers, especially suitable for polar monomers .…”