Abstract: This work investigated the effects of three types of compatibilizers, i.e. polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH), styrene-b-(ethylene-co-1-butylene)-b-styrene triblock copolymer (SEBS), and a selfmade compatibilizer, on the red shift of amino characteristic peaks in the infrared spectra of TPU/SEBS blends by using of Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicated that the self-made compatibilizer exhibited the best compatibilizing effect among the three compatibilizers. The blend containing 6 wt% of the self-made compatibilizer was found to present the greatest red shift for the amino characteristic peak in its infrared spectrum. SEM observation indicated that SEBS domain achieved a uniform dispersion in the matrix due to the corporation of the self-made compatibilizer, which also led to a minimum size in the dispersed phase. This is due to the remarkable improvement in interfacial adhesion between TPU and SEBS. TGA results suggested the decomposition temperatures of the blends were increased with addition of these compatiblizers, and the selfmade compatibilizer had the best effect on the improvement of thermal stability for the blends among the three compatibilizers.

Key words: thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer, styrene-b-(ethylene-co-1-butene)-b-styrene triblock copolymer, compatibilizer, infrared spectroscopy