Morphology and mechanical properties of polyketone blended with polyamide and ethylene-octene rubber

To enhance impact strength of polyketone (PK), maleic anhydride-grafted ethylene-octene rubber (mEOR) was blended via melt mixing. Nylon 6 (PA6) was employed as the third component to compatibilize PK/mEOR blends. The changes in mechanical properties, morphology, and fracture behavior of the blends by the addition of PA6 were investigated. PK was not toughened by mEOR alone, as the binary blends had lower elongation at break and similar impact strength compared with those of PK. The addition of PA6 gave rise to increases in impact strength as well as in tensile properties, exhibiting the compatibilizing effect of PA6. The lowered interfacial tension was confirmed by the phase morphology, in which PA6 encapsulated mEOR particles of reduced sizes. The observation of sub-surface damage zone also indicated that the toughening of PK by mEOR rubber was effective in the presence of PA6.