Crystallization and Thermal Properties of Thermoplastic Elastomeric Reactive Blends of Polyamide-6 and Acrylate Rubber

The structural characterization of thermoplastic elastomeric blends of polyamide-6 and acrylate rubber (ACM) has been carried out by wide angle X-ray diffraction analysis (WAXD) and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). WAXD results suggest a reduction in the crystallite size as well as an increase in the unit cell dimensions of polyamide-6 crystals in the presence of ACM. DSC results showed a drop in both T_m and the crystallinity of the polyamide-6 phase with the addition of rubber in the blends. The T_g of ACM in the blends was higher than that of pure ACM homopolymer. The elevation of T_g of ACM, coupled with the depression of T_m of polyamide-6, indicates the kinetic restriction of the crystallization process of polyamide-6 in the blends, which is ascribed to the grafting of ACM chains onto the polyamide-6 matrix during the melt blending operation.