Thermosetting Polymer Blends

Thermosetting polymer blends are usually multiphase polymers; the dispersed phase consists of rubbery or thermoplastic domains, and the continuous phase is a cross-linked thermosetting polymer matrix. Thermosetting polymers are among the most important materials in many diverse industries and are being used increasingly in structural engineering applications. The phase behavior and morphology of a thermosetting polymer blend is determined by both thermodynamic and kinetic factors. The occurrence of miscibility or partial miscibility in thermosetting polymer blends where one component is highly cross-linked requires a negative enthalpy. Hydrogen-bonding interaction is an important driving force for the miscibility and the partial miscibility of thermosetting polymer blends. The thermal and mechanical properties of thermosetting polymer blends are also dependent on the miscibility and phase morphology. The interrelationship between the miscibility, phase behavior, crystallization, and composition is very complicated in such thermosetting polymer blends and has been the subject of a research program in the laboratory during the past decade.