Optimisation of Rodrun LC3000/PP compatibilised blends: Influence of the compatibiliser and LCP contents on the rheological, morphological and mechanical properties

 

S. Filipe1,2,+, J. M. Maia1, C.R. Leal3, A.R. Menon4, A. Duarte2,5, and M. T. Cidade2, *

 

1 University of Minho, Polymer Engineering Department, Campus de Azurém, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal

2 Materials Science Department and CENIMAT, New University of Lisbon, Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal

3 ISEL, Polytechnical Institut of Lisbon, Scientific Area of Physics, Rua Conselheiro Emídio Navarro,1,1949-014 Lisboa, Portugal and C.F.M.C.- Lisbon University, Av. Prof. Gama Pinto 2, P-1649-003 Lisboa, Portugal

4 Polymer Division, Regional Research Laboratory (CSIR), Thiruvananthapuram-695019, India

5 ICTPOL, IST – Chemical Department, Torre Sul, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal

 

Abstract

 

      The present study focuses on the optimisation of LCP/TP compatibilised systems. This study was essentially devoted to the influence of different LCP and compatibiliser contents on the final morphological, rheological and mechanical properties of the blends. Rheologically, we used both standard small amplitude oscillatory shear and large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) experiments in order to improve the understanding of the mechanisms behind the mechanical reinforcement that might be helpful in the optimisation of liquid crystalline polymer and thermoplastic blends. The results revealed that LAOS, in particular, is highly sensitive to different morphologies and may be correlated with the effectiveness of compatibilisers, which is not surprising since the flow behaviour of LCPs is highly complex and non-linear, with lower non-linear characters obtained for those blends that showed a higher fibrillar formation and better mechanical properties.

 


+ Present address: Max Planck Institut für Polymerforschung, Ackermannweg
  10, 55128 Mainz, Germany

* Corresponding author (mtc@fct.unl.pt)