Mechanical properties of SBS block copolymers. II. Effect of structure and selective solvent casting on stress–strain properties and mechanical hysteresis

Near‐equilibrium stress–strain properties were obtained for poly(styrene–b–butadiene) copolymer films cast from different solvents at 35°C. The solvents used were methyl ethyl ketone and cyclohexane, selective for PS and PB, respectively, and toluene, a common solvent for both copolymer components. Tensile properties were studied at two successive loading cycles up to a maximum elongation ratio of λmax = 7.0. At constant composition, the results were interpreted on the basis of the available morphology for these systems. The effect of hard block content (35% to 45% styrene) and at constant composition (39% styrene) of block length was also examined on such properties as elasticity and mechanical hysteresis. The results indicate that at constant composition the PB block length influences elasticity and mechanical hysteresis, also that films cast from a common solvent have higher tensile strength and increased mechanical hysteresis presumably because of a more effective load transfer between phases.