Compatibilization of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/natural rubber blend by poly(methyl methacrylate) modified natural rubber

Natural rubber-grafted-poly(methyl methacrylate) (NR-g-PMMA) was successfully synthesized using emulsion polymerization technique. NR-g-PMMA with various PMMA levels was further blended with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) at the fixed 50/50 wt% blend ratio, as simple blend or as dynamically cured blend. The compatibilization efficiency in the blend improved significantly with PMMA level. The morphological evaluation indicated that grafting PMMA onto NR reduced the domain size in the blend, resulting in improved mechanical and rheological properties. The enhanced properties were attributed to strong interactions between PVDF and NR-g-PMMA. Furthermore, the mechanical properties improved with PVDF content, consistent with the blend morphology. In addition, thermal analysis revealed low crystallinity in the blend, which corresponds to the molecular interactions of PVDF and grafted PMMA in NR-g-PMMA.