SEBS-b-TPU and nanoclay: effective compatibilizers for promotion of the interfacial adhesion and properties of immiscible SEBS/TPU blends

• Published in: Polymer bulletin (Berlin, Germany) Vol. 78; no. 6; pp. 3293 - 3310
• Main Authors: Lu, Fang, Liu, Yang, Gao, Shu-xi, Li, Dai-yuan, Mai, Yu-liang, Shi, Hua-hong, Hu, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.06.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abrasion resistance; Adhesion; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Clay; Compatibilizers; Complex Fluids and Microfluidics; Electron microscopes; Ethylene; Investigations; Market entry; Mechanical properties; Morphology; Nanocomposites; Organic Chemistry; Original Paper; Physical Chemistry; Polymer blends; Polymer Sciences; Polystyrene resins; Polyurethane resins; Rheological properties; Rheology; Scanning electron microscopy; Silicones; Soft and Granular Matter; Styrenes; Urethane thermoplastic elastomers; China; Japan; Germany; Taiwan; TPU; Clay; Blends; SEBS; Compatibilization
• ISSN: 0170-0839; 1436-2449
• DOI: 10.1007/s00289-020-03272-7

High-performance polystyrene- b -poly (ethylene-butylene)- b -polystyrene/thermoplastic polyurethane (SEBS/TPU) blends containing polyurethane blocked styrene–ethylene–butylene–styrene (SEBS- b -TPU) and SEBS- b -TPU/clay were obtained by melt mixing. The influence of SEBS- b -TPU and nanoclay content on morphology, mechanical, thermal, rheological and abrasion behavior of the SEBS/TPU blends were investigated. SEM results indicated that the domain size of the TPU phase was remarkably reduced by the presence of SEBS- b -TPU. Moreover, the addition of clay further improved the extent of mixing. TEM and SEM–EDX revealed that nanoclays were preferentially located in and along the outer edge of the TPU phase with an intercalated/exfoliated structure. TGA results showed that the degradation temperatures ( T 5% ) were increased by 12.3 °C and 20.8 °C for SEBS/TPU/SEBS- b -TPU-7% and SEBS/TPU/SEBS- b -TPU/clay-3% nanocomposites, respectively, compared with that of SEBS/TPU. There was also an improvement in mechanical and rheological properties as expected. Meanwhile, the abrasion resistance of SEBS/TPU blends was considerably enhanced by the presence of SEBS- b -TPU/clay, the DIN volume loss decreased by as much as 56%, which can be attributed to the dispersion of the clay platelets in nanoscales as well as the enhanced interfacial adhesion. These superior properties of the SEBS/TPU blends are important for many applications.