This book was written to support an area of significant technical, industrial and commercial interest in the field of polymer development. There have been major advances in polymer blend preparation, many of which have been achieved through compatibilization. While physical compatabilization using block copolymers was the technique of choice in the past, increasingly, reactive approaches are being used.

Reactive Polymer Blending deals with the development of new polymer materials which attain their desired mechanical properties due to the unique combination of their component polymers. Many polymer blends have been developed economically for applications in packaging, transportation, construction, appliances, electronics, and other industries.

From the Foreword: “...[Reactive] processes have developed into what is arguably the best route to prepare new materials by combining different, existing polymers while most monomers cannot be easily copolymerized to gain intermediate properties...[M]ost important in this volume are the extensive discussions on the unique aspects of reactive blending in the developments of polymer blends, and morphology changes and how these lead to improvements in properties, especially mechanical properties. Therefore this volume covers all aspects, from fundamentals of interfacial reactions and morphology developments, compatibilizer chemistry and design, reactive blending process fundamentals, to the process equipment and present major classes of commercially significant blends...”

Target Audience: Polymer scientists, chemists, technologists, and students involved with polymer blends, compatibilizers, and similar fields

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Types of Reactive Polymers Used in Blending

Reactive Blending with Immiscible Functional Polymers: Molecular, Morphological, and Interfacial Aspects

Key Role of Structural Features of Compatibilizing Polymer Additives in Reactive Blending

Morphological and Rheological Aspects of Reactive Polymer Blending

Reactive Blending in Screw Extruders

Extrusion Equipment for Reactive Blending

Rubber Toughening of Polyamides by Reactive Blending

Compatibilization Using Low Molecular Weight Reactive Additives

Index