The reactive compatibilized effect of SMA for immiscible APA6/PS blends via in-Situ polymerization

Styrene maleic anhydride (SMA)-g-APA6 copolymer was firstly synthesized by free radical polymerization of styrene and followed by anionic polymerization of ε-caprolactam. The polyamide 6 (APA6)/polystyrene (PS) blends were successfully prepared via anion polymerization. Among in, SMA was acted as both compatibilizer and macromolecular activator. A series of APA6/PS blends with different SMA addition amounts were synthesized to study the effect of SMA on crystallinity , morphology, water resistance, thermal stability and mechanical properties using X-ray diffraction analysis, differential scanning calorimetry , scanning electron microscopy analysis , contact angle measurement, water absorption measurement, molau test, thermogravimetric analysis , stretching and impact test. Correlational analysis proved that the obtained SMA-g-APA6 copolymer has good dispersion with PS. In addition, APA6/PS blends possess good mechanical properties, thermostability and hydrophobic property.