Effect of Poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) as Functional Additive on the Physical Properties of Poly(phenylene ether) (PPE)/PPS Blends

Abstract In this study, polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) was introduced in polyphenylene ether (PPE) blend to improve the processability of PPE and to secure the flame retardancy of the blend without deteriorating physical properties. Through the study of the binary blend of PPE/PPS, it was found that the shear thinning behavior and the external lubrication effect of PPS can improve the processability of PPE. Thermal analysis of the blend showed that the glass transition temperature of the PPS component decreases by the plasticization while that of the PPE component increases by the anti-plasticization effect. The modulus of the binary blend increased with the PPS content, and the tensile strength decreased but followed the additive rule. The change in tensile properties can be explained by the synergy effect of partial miscibility between PPE and PPS due to structural similarity, and non-isotropic morphology formation. Impact strength increased sharply in PPE60 due to the mechanical grafting effect by co-continuous phase formation. In the ternary blend with SEBS-MAH applied to PPE60, the impact strength steep increased at a content of 10 wt% or more due to the dramatic morphology change based on the compatibilization effect. Flame retardancy of V0 was also observed in all compositions where SEBS-MAH was applied within 20 phr.