Assessment of physicomechanical properties of composite films based on a styrene-acrylic polymer, glycidyl ether, and a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane compatibilizer

Abstract

The study concerns composite materials based on polymer mixtures of a styrene-acrylic polymer, glycidyl ether, and a 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) compatibilizer. The use of a silane-type compatibilizer improves the compatibility of the components and has been shown to significantly increase the degree of crosslinking of the composition components. In this work, the structural parameters of the polymer network of the composition components depending on the compatibilizer concentration were researched by the method of equilibrium swelling. The optimal concentration of the compatibilizer was found to maximize the degree of crosslinking with a minimal number of active chains. This fact proves that the crosslinking in the composition is complete and the molecule does not contain active sites that have not reacted with the compatibilizer. The swelling kinetics of the polymer composite films proves that with an increase in the degree of crosslinking, the swelling of the polymer films decreases. Polymer films with a low proportion of active chains practically do not swell after the crosslinking process. The article describes a possible mechanism of compatibilization involving 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as well as styrene-acrylic and glycidyl ether polymers. The 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane compatibilizer has active functional groups that are located on opposite sides of the molecule; these are three active hydroxyl groups and one active amino group. Due to the presence of various functional groups, this compatibilizer can bind the polymers and thereby form strong polymer films. This gives grounds to assert that the control of the compatibilizer concentration and the degree of crosslinking of the composition components provide prospects for the creation of polymer films with high physical and mechanical characteristics due to the high interfacial adhesion of the components in the composition.