Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, Vol.34, No.5, 781-788, 1996
Reaction-Induced Phase-Separation in a Semiinterpenetrating Network of Reactive Ternary Blends
Morphology and reaction mechanisms were probed on a model reactive ternary blend system of polycarbonate (PC), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and diglycidylether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Molecular interactions/reactions between the components in the blends after heating treatments are discussed. It was found that reactions took place among the components and that an interpenetrating network was built. The possible reaction mechanisms and the resulting structures after the heating treatments were probed. In the blends, PC and DGEBA reacted to form a network, while PMMA remained free. The semiinterpenetration, however, did not result in a network interlocked into a homogeneous state. The single T-g of the heated ternary DGEBA/PC/PMMA blends actually did not reflect a homogeneous interpenetrating network. Due to relatively small PMMA domains, the ternary blend network exhibited a single T-g. Upon etching the PMMA domains from the blend by acetone, a clearly interpenetrating network of reacted PC and epoxy was exposed and confirmed. The reactions leading to such a morphology are discussed with experimental evidence.
Keywords:POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE;POLYCARBONATE