Abstract
The present investigation deals with morphology and deformation mechanisms of the plastic-toughened plastic system composed of a crystalline (low density polyethylene, LDPE) and an amorphous (polystyrene, PS) component. By proper use of a solution-melt procedure of specimen preparation for transmission electron microscope (TEM), not only the multiphase structure of the PS/LDPE blends, but also details of the crystalline morphology of LDPE in the blends have been successfully revealed. Based on the TEM morphological observations of the blends under in-situ stretching process, the toughness and deformation mechanisms of the blends are explored. It is found that multiple-craze is the main mechanism of deformation and toughening when LDPE constitutes the dispersed phase, whereas shear-yielding becomes major deformation mode when LDPE forms the continuous phase.
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Xu, S., Jiang, M. & Shen, J. Morphology and Deformation Mechanisms of Polystyrene/Low Density Polyethylene Blends Studied by TEM. Polym J 27, 607–613 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.27.607
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1295/polymj.27.607