Miscibility and mechanical properties of blends of poly(phenylene oxide) with SEBS and maleated SEBS

The miscibility of poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) blends with styrene ethylene co butadiene styrene block copolymer (SEBS) and a version grafted with maleic anhydride (SEBS g MA) was investigated using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Thermograms of these blends demonstrated that PPO was miscible with SEBS, which showed a unique T g. But PPO was partially compatible with SEBS g MA because there were two of T g in DSC curve, where one was close to T g of PPO and the other was much higher than that of SEBS g MA. Mechanical property research revealed that PPO/SEBS blends achieved little higher notched Izod impact strength than pure PPO in all of composition. However SEBS g MA could effectively toughen PPO and the blends reached super toughness with a notched Izod impact strength of 1 260 J/m at the SEBS g MA content of 20% by weight.