Structural and Mechanical Properties Changes of Ethylene‐α‐olefin Copolymer Blends Induced by Thermal Treatments and Composition

Abstract

Summary: Blends of single‐site catalysed ethylene‐α‐butene (C4VLDPE) and ethylene‐α‐octene (C8VLDPE) copolymers were prepared by melt extrusion. The phase morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of the blends have been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile test and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Depending on the composition and thermal history, significant differences in structure and behaviour were found. It was also found that some degree of co‐crystallization occurred for quenched blends; whereas most of the oven slowly cooled blends showed two well‐defined melting peaks, indicating that the slow cooling favoured partial segregation of the fractions with different degrees of branching to form two morphologies. Moreover, SEM revealed morphology of the thinner crystals distributed in‐between the thicker sheaf‐like crystals for the slowly cooled blends with 20–50% C8VLDPE. Therefore, the synergism in mechanical properties for the blends with 20–50% C8VLDPE is due to a combination of larger crystal size, more complete phase separation and interfacial interaction produced by the segregation effect of the slow cooling treatment. DMA studies showed that the storage modulus increased as the addition of C8VLDPE and modulus for the slowly cooled blends are about twice those measured for the quenched ones, indicating higher stiffness of the blends. The smooth shift of β relaxation temperature with addition of C8VLDPE for both sets of blends confirmed the miscibility in the amorphous phase.SEM image of the C4VLDPE‐C8VLDPE (50/50) blend after oven slow cooling treatment.magnified imageSEM image of the C4VLDPE‐C8VLDPE (50/50) blend after oven slow cooling treatment.