Sperling, L. H. Chiu, Tai-Woo Hartman, C. P. Thomas, D. A.
Verschenen in:
International journal of polymeric materials
Paginering:
Jaargang 1 (1972) nr. 4 pagina's 331-341
Jaar:
1972-07-01
Inhoud:
Latex interpenetrating polymer networks are a unique type of polymer blend, synthesized by swelling crosslinked seed latex particles of polymer I with monomer II, plus cross-linking agents, and polymerizing monomer II in situ. In a manner similar to polymer blends generally, polymer 1 and II are incompatible to greater or lesser extents, and phase separate. In IPN materials, however, the phase separation is hindered by the presence of the double networks, giving rise to especially finely divided phase domains. The synthesis of polybutadiene/polystyrene and poly(ethyl methacrylate)/poly(n-butyl acrylate) latex IPN's is considered, and the dynamic mechanical properties of the resulting films or molded materials is measured as a function of temperature. Two transitions were found for incompatible materials, while one broad transition arises with semicompatible polymer pairs. While regions of true interpenetration are indicated, the effect on the mechanical properties of inverting the order of polymerization suggests the presence of a shell-core phase separation. The origin of the shell-core separation effect is considered qualitatively, the underlying cause being ascribed to the statistics of mixing of polymer I with solvent (monomer II) and non-solvent, surrounding water.