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Design and properties of co-continuous nanostructured polymers by reactive blending

Nature Materials volume 1, pages 54–58 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

With an annual production of hundreds of millions of tons, the few commodity polymers that dominate the plastics market cannot satisfy all the applications and expectations. In this context, the fabrication of thermodynamically stable polymer blends structured on submicrometre scales raises much hope, but poses significant scientific and industrial challenges. Here, we propose and demonstrate for an industrially relevant system, polyethylene and polyamide, that hitherto inaccessible co-continuous morphologies can be produced over a wide range of compositions by reactive blending. Paradoxically, the self-assembled structures are thermodynamically stable because of the molecular polydispersity inherent in the production method. These nanostructured materials present a unique combination of properties impossible to achieve with classical blends. This versatile, low-cost and simple strategy should be widely applicable.

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Figure 1: Reactive blending principle and strategy.
Figure 2: Co-continuous nanostructured blend.
Figure 3: Co-continuous versus phase-separated blends.
Figure 4: Mechanical properties.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to L. Monnerie and A.-V. Ruzette, and also to P. Robert and M. Hert from Atofina for helpful discussions on reactive blending and polymer alloys. We also thank L. Murino for technical advice, P. Coupard for TEM observations and C. Degoulet for SEC analysis. We are grateful to S. Granick for comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Matière Molle et Chimie (UMR 167, CNRS/ESPCI/ATOFINA), ESPCI 10, rue Vauquelin, Paris, 75 005, France

    Helene Pernot & Ludwik Leibler

  2. ATOFINA, CERDATO, Serquigny, 27 470, France

    Martin Baumert & François Court

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  1. Helene Pernot
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  2. Martin Baumert
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Correspondence to Ludwik Leibler.

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Pernot, H., Baumert, M., Court, F. et al. Design and properties of co-continuous nanostructured polymers by reactive blending. Nature Mater 1, 54–58 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat711

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