Synergistically Toughening Polyoxymethylene by Methyl Methacrylate–Butadiene–Styrene Copolymer and Thermoplastic Polyurethane

Ternary polyoxymethylene (POM) blends comprising methacrylate-butadiene-styrene (MBS) copolymer and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) in different weight percentages are prepared by a two-step melt extrusion technique. The synergistic toughening effect of polyoxymethylene by MBS as the impact modifier and TPU as the compatibilizer is investigated. The thermal behaviors of the prepared POM/MBS/TPU blends are analyzed. The notched impact resistance of the modified POM (POM/MBS/TPU 80 wt%/15 wt%/10 wt%) reached 40.83 kJ m(-2). The enhanced toughness of the POM/MBS blends with the incorporation of TPU indicates the significance of TPU as a compatibilizer. Although the TPU compatibilizer enhances the interfacial adhesion between POM and MBS and decreases the size of MBS particles, serious agglomeration phenomenon is observed at higher TPU contents (more than 10 wt%) and caused slightly reduced tensile strength and the elongation at break for the sample with both loadings of MBS and TPU at 15 wt%. Instead, further increase of the notched impact strength is noted resulting from the compatibilizer TPU and an effective impact modifier MBS on the POM blend system to achieve a "super-tough" effect. These "super-tough" polyoxymethylene blends can be applied as the host matrix for preparing various multifunctional nanocomposites.