The mechanical properties of the polymer films which were obtained from blend emulsions of the glassy and rubbery polymers have been studied. The copolymer of acrylonitrile, styrene and glycidylmethacrylate was used as the glassy polymer, and that of ethylacrylate and glycidylmethacrylate as the rubbery polymer. The specimens used were the films obtained by electrodeposition from mixed emulsions of the glassy and rubbery polymers in various ratios. A straight copolymer of acrylonitrile, styrene, ethylacrylate and glycidylmethacrylate, and a two-step copolymer which was obtained by copolymerization of acrylonitrile, styrene and glycidylmethacrylate in the emulsion of ethylacrylate-glycidylme-thacrylate copolymer were also studied.
The straight copolymer was found to show a single absorption peak at 80°C, while the blended polymers and the two-step polymer showed two absorption peaks at 20°C and 140°C. The heights of these two absorption peaks were dependent on the ratio of the rubbery polymer to the glassy one, and the steepness of the peak was affected by the process with which the film was prepared and also by the method of emulsion preparation.
It is concluded that a heterogeneous system is formed from the blend emulsions and the emulsions of the two-step copolymer. An attempt is made to analyze the results in terms of a simple mechanical model in which the existence of boundary layers between the phases of component polymers are taken into consideration. It appears that the boundary layers formed in the course of sintering of emulsion particles plays an important role in determining the mechanical properties of the films.
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