Poly(vinyl chloride)/epoxidised natural rubber (PVC/ENR) blends were prepared with a Brabender Plasticorder at various mixing time and temperatures. They were mixed at fixed rotor speed of 50 rpm. The blends were irradiated with doses ranging from 0 to 200 kGy. Changes in tensile strength, modulus at 100% elongation, gel fraction, and tan δ curves of the blends with the mixing parameters and irradiation doses were investigated. In general, it was observed that the mixing parameters such as temperature and time studied in this work are important in maximizing the positive effect of irradiation. Results revealed that a readily miscible blend enjoy maximum benefit from irradiation. However, irradiation can impart miscibility to a partially miscible PVC/ENR blends. The enhancement in blend properties can be attributed to the irradiation-induced crosslinking along with irradiation-induced interaction between the polymers. The irradiation-induced degradation was found to be prominent at higher doses for blend that has undergone excessive thermal degradation. However, evidence did not reveal the specific nature of irradiation-induced reaction responsible for the improved interactions of the blends.
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Ratnam et al. (2001) studied this question.
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