Compatibility studies on some polymer blend systems by electrical and mechanical techniques

Systematic electrical and mechanical studies were carried out on natural rubber (NR) blended with different types of synthetic rubber such as styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), polybutadiene rubber (BR), and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) as nonpolar rubbers and nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and chloroprene rubber (CR) as polar rubbers. The NR/SBR, NR/BR, NR/EPDM, NR/NBR, and NR/CR blends were prepared with different ratios (100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75, and 0/100). The permittivity (Ε′) and dielectric loss (Ε″) of these blends were measured over a wide range of frequencies (100 Hz-100 kHz) and at room temperature (approx. 27°C). The compatibility results obtained from the dielectric measurements were comparable with those obtained from the calculation of the heat of mixing. These results were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and showed that NR/SBR and NR/BR blends were compatible while NR/EPDM, NR/NBR, and NR/CR blends were incompatible. To overcome the problem of phase separation (incompatibility) between NR and EPDM, NBR, or CR, a third component such as SBR or poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was added as a compatibilizing agent to these blends. The experimental data of dielectric and mechanical measurements showed that the addition of either SBR or PVC could improve the compatibility of such blends to some extent.