Recent Advances in Polymer Blends, Grafts, and Blocks, Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1974 Polymer Science and Technology Series, Vol. 4

Polymer blends, grafts, and blocks, broadly defined, encompass all of the ways in which two or more kinds of poly­ mer molecules can be mixed and/or joined. Because these mate­ rials exhibit non-linear and often synergistic properties, they have found increasing application in our technology. Their multifarious uses have, in turn, spurred new research efforts, to find yet different ways of joining two kinds of polymer molecules, with novel physical and/or mechanical behavior patterns. In August, 1973, the Polymer Division of the American Chemical Society sponsored a symposium at its meeting in Chi­ cago on Polymer Blends, Grafts, and Blocks. This book collects the papers presented at that symposium. Yet, it is more than just a collection of papers, for we here display the thinking and efforts of a number of top-ranking American and foreign scientists in one of the world's more active research areas. The symposium emphasized the interrelationships among synthetic detail, morphology, and physical and mechanical properties. Several novel syntheses were presented. These include oxidation resistant thermoplastic elastomers (Holden), a graft copolymer based thermoplastic elastomer (Kennedy and Smith), a cationic graft copolymer (Kennedy, Charles, and Davidson), an AB crosslinked copolymer (Bamford and Eastmond), an interpenetrating polymer network (Donatelli, Thomas, and Sperling), and simultaneous interpenetrating networks (Frisch, Klempner, Frisch, and Ghiradella). Most polymer blends, grafts, and blocks exhibit two phases. The theory of microdomain structure was discussed (Helfand). The different ways that the two molecules can be joined together was examined (Kenney), and their topology was explored (Sperling).

Section I. Introduction.- An Introduction to the Synthesis of Block- and Graft Copolymers.- Practical Properties of Multi-Phase Polymer Systems.- On the Generation of Novel Polymer Blend, Graft, and IPN Structures through the Application of Group Theory Concepts.- Effects of Monomer Unit Arrangement on the Properties of Copolymers.- Block Copolymer Theory. II. Statistical Thermodynamics of the Microphases.- Cationic Grafting: The Synthesis and Characterization of Butyl Rubber-g-Polystyrene and PVC-g-Polyisobutylene.- Synthesis, Morphology, and Properties of AB Crosslinked Copolymers.- Section II. Introduction.- Polysulfone-Nylon 6 Block Copolymers and Alloys.- Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Urea-Urethane Block Polymers.- Orientation Studies of Polyurethane Block Polymers.- Butadiene-Styrene AB Type Block Copolymers.- New Developments in Block Copolymer Applications.- Polystyrene-Poly (?-Methyl Styrene) AB Block Copolymers and Alloys.- Section III. Introduction.- The Synthesis, Characterization and Physical Properties of EPM-g-Polystyrene Thermoplastic Elastomers.- The Causes of Pitting and Haze on Molded ABS Plastic Surfaces.- Poly(Butadiene-Co-Styrene)/Polystyrene IPN’s, Semi-IPN’s and Graft Copolymers: Staining Behavior and Morphology.- Topologically Interpenetrating Polymer Networks.- Time-Temperature Superposition in Two-Phase Polyblends.- Contributors.