ASSIGNMENT 2

TITLE:
POLYMER BLEND

MEMBER:
NUR AMIRA FAZIRA BINTI AHMAD (A146096)

1. Short essay on polymer blend include advantage and disadvantage of it.

A polymer blend or polymer mixture is a member of a class of materials analogous to

metal alloys, in which at least two polymers are blended together to create a new material with
different physical properties.
Generally, there are five main types of polymer blend: thermoplasticthermoplastic
blends; thermoplasticrubber blends; thermoplasticthermosetting blends; rubber thermosetting
blends; and polymerfiller blends, all of which have been extensively studied. Polymer blending
has attracted much attention as an easy and cost-effective method of developing polymeric
materials that have versatility for commercial applications. In other words, the properties of the
blends can be manipulated according to their end use by correct selection of the component
polymers . Today, the market pressure is so high that producers of plastics need to provide better
and more economic materials with superior combinations of properties as a replacement for the
traditional metals and polymers. Although, plastic raw materials are more costly than metals in
terms of weight, they are more economical in terms of the product cost. Moreover, polymers are
corrosion-resistant, possess a light weight with good toughness (which is important for good fuel
economy in automobiles and aerospace applications), and are used for creating a wide range of
goods that include household plastic products, automotive interior and exterior components,
biomedical devices, and aerospace applications
The advantage of polymer blend is one main practical application of polymers
is through the use of multicomponentpolymer systems, such as polymer
blends, and there are a variety of reasons to utilize them.Polymer blends are
physical mixtures of two or more polymers that do not have chemical
bonding between them and have become a chief means for advancing and
constructing polymeric materials.A main reason polymer blends are used are
to improve the chemical and physical properties of commercial polymers
through the blending with other polymers.Some of the attractive features of
polymer blends are that they can lower cost and add
value.

Polymer blends may result in an overall reduction of cost as a

relatively inexpensive polymer can be added to a more expensive
commercial polymer. The properties of polymers may also be enhanced with
polymer blends. Properties that can be altered are heat distortion
temperature

(HDT),

toughness,

modulus,

chemical

resistance,

and

processability of the commercial polymer to make it more ideal for a given

application.3 Also, polymer blends can be made in different compositions,
and with differing compositions there are different properties that result.
Lastly, polymer blends may be implemented more quickly and economically
for a given application instead of looking into the chemistry of new polymers.
In addition, advantages to using polymer blends include impact
modification when rubber is incorporated; improved environmental stress
crack resistance; possible anti-slip, anti-block, and low coefficients of friction;
and various commercial products can result from property compromise with
elastomers.

Some

advantages

of

single

phase

blends

include

HDT

enhancement, improved processability, plasticizer permanence, and no weldline strength deterioration. Single phase blends also retain optical clarity,
which is necessary in packaging and optical applications. Advantages to
using two phase blends involve the ability to be used in rubber-toughened
plastics, composites, and recycled polymer mixtures.As it can be seen, the
degree of miscibility of a blend can have either advantages or disadvantages
depending on the application.
2. Recent development in polymer blend
The study of blend properties is very important to find its new
application in the field of
biomedical and pharmacy. The example is journal (Hadi et al 2015) which
focused on Improving Tensile Strength of Polymer Blends as Prosthetic Foot
Material Reinforcement by Carbon Fiber. Prosthetic Foots or artificial limbs,
3

are fabricated devices that provide amputees with a replacement for their
missing limb, restoring some function, The development of polymer blend
materials has, in recent years, led to technological advances across a wide
range of applications in modern orthopedic medicine and prosthetic devices.
The basic of this research new polymer blend self-cure PMMA/SR which can
be used in manufacturing the prosthetic foot with a reasonable cost and
satisfying mechanical properties accepted. Improvement tensile strength of
this polymer blends for this application, one of the simple improve tensile
strength of PMMA/SR polymer blend reinforcement by carbon fiber CF.
Polymer blends (PMMA:SR) 90:10; 80:20; 70:30; 60:40; 50:50 were
prepared reinforcements each one by carbon fibers from 5-15% (CF), then
tensile strength test was carried out for prepared specimens, and effect of
reinforcement by carbon fibers on tensile strength of polymer blends were
determined as one improvement for prosthetic foot material.
PMMA and SR were used as polymer blends for this research as
suitable material for prosthetic foot, PMMA is a linear thermoplastic polymer.
Experiments were performed in order to improve the tensile strength
properties for polymer blends as prosthetic foot material by reinforcement
with short carbon fibers, this improvement as tensile strength, modulus of
elasticity, increase as reinforcement material increase, elongation decrease
as reinforcement material increase, while

increase as rubber content

increase for polymer blends, tensile strength, elasticity, decreases as rubber

content increase, and used cold cure polymers blends for simple molding
process with improvement the tensile properties by reinforcement is very
comparative blends that can be used for prosthetic foot applications,
spatially the lower cost for this polymer materials.
Next is research that focus on the polymer blends and nanocomposite
systems for articular cartilage tissue engineering applications. Among these
polymers,

natural

polymers

could

provide
4

some

properties

such

as

biocompatibility, biodegradability, low toxicity, and cell signaling whereas

synthetic polymers provide some other properties such as mechanical and
physical properties and thermal stability. But many of them do not provide
sufficient mechanical properties to continuously support the formation of
cartilage tissue
Polymer blending is a well-known technique whenever property
modification is required, because this inexpensive technology enables
materials with full set of tailored properties and improved specific properties
[104]. The main reason of blending is to widen the range of properties while
obviating their drawbacks. Usually the combination of natural polymers with
synthetic polymers preserves the advantages of polymers. In this research
polymer is blend with chitosan and collagen. collagen/hyaluronan/chitosan
and hydroxyapatite/collagen/chondroitin sulfate nanocomposite are some
examples of this classification. Sometimes, synthetic polymers, such as
polyvinyl alcohol, are mixed with othersynthetic ones to modify its
drawbacks such as poor bioactivity. It must be borne in mind that the
engineered articular cartilage should match the mechanical functionality of
the native tissue. Therefore, engineered articular cartilages should have
properties such as anisotropic, nonlinear, viscoelastic, and inhomogeneity.
Reference :
Hadi A,N & Oleiwi J,K. 2015. Improving Tensile Strength of Polymer Blends as
Prosthetic Foot
Material Reinforcement by Carbon Fiber. Material Sci En.4. 1000158.
Doulabi

A,H

&

Mequanint

&

Mohammadi

H.

2014.

Blends

and

Nanocomposite Biomaterials for Articular Cartilage Tissue Engineering.

Materials. 7. 5327-5355.

3. Characterization technique of polymer blend

The example of characterization technique of polymer blend is by
Scanning electron microscopy.The cryogenically fractured surface and
smooth cut surface of the blend samples were investigated using a Jeol ESEM
scanning electron microscopy (SEM) system, with an accelerating voltage of
20 kV. Next is Atomic force microscopy.The AFM images of the cut surface of
the samples were taken in tapping mode by a Dimension3100 Nanoscope V
(Veeco, USA). Silicon-SPM sensors (Budget Sensors, Bulgaria) with a spring
constant of ca.40N/mand resonance frequency of .280kHz were used. The tip
radius is lower than10nm.
The other example is Transmission electron microscopy.To assess the
quality

of

filler

dispersion

and

morphological

details,

the

NR/NBR

nanocomposites were investigated by means of Transmission electron

microscopy (TEM) (JEM-2100 HRTEM). The micrographs were obtained in
point to point resolution 0.194 nm, operating at an accelerating voltage of
200 kV. Ultrathin sections of bulk specimens Cryocut specimens (~100nm
thickness) prepared using an ultra-microtome (Leica, Ultracut UCT) were
placed on a 300 mesh Cu grids (35mm diameter) and were analysed without
staining.
X-ray diffraction also one of popular tools used in characterization
technique in polymer blend.X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments were
performed directly on the organically modified clay powder sand on the clay
filled samples. Inorder to findout the spacing between the clay layers, X-ray
diffraction

of

NR/NBR

nanocomposite

was

conducted

using

the

XRD:SIEMMENS D 5000 with radiations Cu K alpha at 40 kV and 30mA.

Beside that, Tensile properties is also used in carazterization polymer
blend. The tensile testing of the blends was carried out in a Universal Testing
6

Machine (T50KT), Tensile properties of the samples were measured using

universal testing machine (Tinius Olsen) with a cross-head rate at
500mm/min according to ASTM D 412-98 at a room temperature (25 2C).
Five dumbbell shaped samples of each system were used to determine the
youngs modulus, tensile strength and elongation at break. Tensile modulus
was taken as the slope of the
initial linear region of the stress-strain curve.
At last is Stress relaxation measurements. The stress relaxation
measurements of the blend nanocomposites were carried out in a Universal
Testing Machine (T50KT). Stress relaxation measurements were carried out to
study the effect of different parameters that influence the NR/NBR
nanocomposite such as, loading, filler polarity, blend composition, mixing
conditions, nature of filler, temperature and preparation methods. A Tinius
Olsen testing machine (H50KT) fitted with an environmental chamber, was
used to carry out the viscoelastic testing. The environmental chamber was
capable of temperature control. After the environmental chamber was
equilibrated to the desired temperature (70oC), the specimen was gripped
between two sets of jaws 12 mm apart and then was further allowed to
equilibrate to the conditions within the chamber, for a period of 30 40
minutes. Once equilibrated, a tensile stress was applied to the specimen by
moving the upper grip at a constant rate (500 mm min-1 crosshead speed).
When the desired initial strain of 50% had been reached, movement of the
grip