Polymer Engineering and Science, Vol.48, No.6, 1068-1076, 2008
Coupling of various methods for the investigation of the morphology of blends of natural rubber and polybutadiene
The aim of this work is to develop a set of experimental methods to investigate the morphology of blends of two immiscible elastomers, namely natural rubber (NR) and polybutadiene (PB). Selective extraction, dynamic mechanical spectroscopy in the melt, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to get information on the structure of unfilled and uncured blends. 1,2-dichloroethane and 4-methyl-2-pentanone (MIBK) were employed to dissolve selectively NR and PB in specific conditions to assess the continuity of the phases. In oscillatory shear flow at low frequencies and low volume fractions of the minor phase, the storage modulus shows an excess of elasticity that increases with the dispersed phase content. At higher concentration of the minor phase, the elasticity decreases in relation to the morphology. Samples were also ultra cryo-microtomed and then analyzed by TEM. The superposition of the three methods highlights the existence of a phase-inversion point for these systems.