Sustainable polymer composites: immiscible blends prepared by extrusion of poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and polyamide6,10 with high bio-based content

Components for binary polymer blends were sought to produce an immiscible blend of improved renewable character and with good structural properties. The poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and polyamide6,10 system was selected based on the molecular structure of the molecules and the bio-based origin of the feedstocks. A preliminary study of three compositions in this system demonstrated the similar thermal properties of the two polymers as measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the ability of these polymers to be processed together in conventional extrusion equipment to produce blends with micrometer-scale domains. Dispersed phases were observed by electron microscopy near the end members. Available viscosity data and the appearance of columnar blends at the 50/50 composition suggest the possibility of co-continuous blends in close proximity to this composition.