Thermomechanical Behaviour of Poly(methyl methacrylate)/Copoly(ether-ester) Blends

Abstract

Binary blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/copoly(ether-ester) (COPE) elastomer were prepared under four different compositions by melt mixing technique using twin-screw extruder. The effects of COPE content on thermal and dynamic mechanical properties were investigated using various techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetric analysis (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) for all PMMA/COPE blends. The properties of all the blends were evaluated in comparison with neat PMMA and COPE. All the blends show higher thermal stability than individual component. DSC analysis results reveal that all the blends show two glass transition temperature (Tg) values and the Tg value of PMMA has been shifted to lower side due to the presence of COPE content. The two step reduction in storage modulus corresponding to their Tg value reveal that the blends are immiscible in nature.