The Effect of Compatibilization of Maleated Polypropylene on a Blend of Polyamide-6 and Liquid Crystalline Copolyester

Blends of polyamide-6 (PA6) and thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) compatibilized with various maleic-anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAP) contents were injection-moulded. The effect of compatibilization on the mechanical properties of the blends was investigated by means of tensile testing, drop weight Charpy impact measurement and dynamic mechanical analysis. The static tensile measurement showed that the strain-at-break depends strongly on the MAP content. The impact test also indicated that the critical strain energy release rate (G_IC) is dependent on the MAP concentration. These results revealed that the 80%PA6/MAP(86/14)-20%LCP blend exhibits the highest strain-at-break and G_IC values. Moreover, the tensile ductility and impact toughness tended to decrease dramatically with increasing MAP content. This was attributed to the chemical and thermal decomposition of PA6 during blending for the LCP/PA6 blends containing higher MAP concentration.