Study on 3D phase structure in low density polyethylene/ethylene⁃vinyl alcohol copolymer （PE⁃LD/EVOH） blends through confocal Raman imaging

doi:10.19491/j.issn.1001-9278.2024.04.001

Abstract

Abstract:

The phase structure of polymer blends directly affects the macroscopic properties of the materials； therefore， it is important to investigate the size and spatial distribution of each phase. In this work， the confocal Raman imaging technique was adopted to study the distribution of phases of PE⁃LD/EVOH blends in the horizontal and depth directions and 3D space in the compression⁃molded specimens. The phase structure of PE⁃LD/EVOH blends in 3D space was obtained at the first time， and the phase region visually corresponded to the chemical composition of the blends. The results indicated that the PE⁃LD/EVOH blends were immiscible system. 20 wt% EVOH could be dispersed in the PE⁃LD matrix in a regular cylindrical form with a diameter of the cylinder in the range of 3~6 μm. The introduction of polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride （PE⁃g⁃MAH） made the phase structure change significantly from the regular to irregular shape， and the cross⁃section size was reduced to 2 μm. This indicates that PE⁃g⁃MAH can enhance the compatibility between PE⁃LD and EVOH significantly.

Key words: Raman imaging, low?density polyethylene, ethylene?vinyl alcohol copolymer, blend, 3D phase structure

CLC Number:

TQ325.1⁺2

ZHANG Chunbo, LIU Xuanbo, YAO Xuerong, SU Cui, SHI Hongwei, ZHANG Longgui, ZHANG Taoyi. Study on 3D phase structure in low density polyethylene/ethylene⁃vinyl alcohol copolymer （PE⁃LD/EVOH） blends through confocal Raman imaging[J]. China Plastics, 2024, 38(4): 1-5.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig.1. Raman spectra of PE⁃LD and EVOH

Fig.2. The sectional morphology of compression molded samples obtained by confocal Raman imaging

Fig.3. The surface scanning images of PE⁃LD/EVOH⁃20 % compression molded sample at different depths obtained by confocal Raman imaging

Fig.4. The surface scanning images of PE⁃LD/EVOH⁃20 %⁃C compression molded sample at different depths obtained by confocal Raman imaging

Fig.5. 3D morphology of PE⁃LD/EVOH compression samples obtained by confocal Raman imaging technique

Fig.6. The 3D morphologies of PE⁃LD/EVOH⁃20 % and PE⁃LD/EVOH⁃20 %⁃C molded samples obtained by confocal Raman imaging

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